


Lovers, Liars and Evil Lawyers

by FrostedCara, GeminiLoveCA



Series: Winchester-Callum [8]
Category: Angel: the Series, Supernatural
Genre: AU series, Case Fic, F/M, Highlander References, angel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 04:12:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 73,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16401089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostedCara/pseuds/FrostedCara, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeminiLoveCA/pseuds/GeminiLoveCA
Summary: Previously on.... Sam's soul has been retrieved from the Lavelle Emerald, where it was trapped. Unfortunately, this comes with its own consequences, which place the Winchesters and Callums on the radar of Evan's former firm. This not only ends with yet another death of someone close to them, but the resurrection of another.





	1. Prologue

~ Los Angeles, California~

The figure stared out at the city from the high rise’s window. Los Angeles, The City of Angels. Lost angels, maybe. They seemed to be the only angels left in this city.

In the darkness, the buildings and streets below blazed with light, illuminating the lives going on stories below. The freeway nearby branched off in various directions and numbers, the tail lights of its travellers blinking as they crawled and raced, as traffic allowed. With a quirk of his mouth, the figure noted how much the road resembled nothing so much as an artery, pulsing and spilling blood over the city.

The thought made him smile, though anyone seeing it reflected in the glass would have found the smile did not travel up to his sickly yellow eyes, nor did it enhance his feline facial features with its coldness. The door to the office opened behind him, ending his silent review. Reluctantly, the figure changed his visage to the more human mask he normally wore, dull brown eyes replacing the bright yellow, features receding and shifting.

As he turned, his young protégé stood, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, in front of his desk. Not even his three-thousand-dollar hand-tailored silk suit and expensive custom-blended aftershave could disguise the stink of fear that rolled from him in waves. From an opponent, it would be satisfying to know they trembled to be in his very presence, but his "help" should be made of sterner stuff. How disappointing.

“So, Jacob, you come bearing bad news,” he commented as he turned away from the window.  
Jacob swallowed nervously. Being in this man’s presence was unnerving. And it wasn’t because he was his boss. He was **The Boss**. And he knew things. There were rumours in more than a few departments that he wasn’t even human. “Umm.”

“Spit it out,” the man sighed as he turned back to the window.

“The object,” the younger man said hesitantly, “May have been retrieved already.”

“This is,” the man paused, “Unfortunate. Do we know by whom?” He turned away from the window again and crossed to his desk to sit. The young man jumped slightly as he saw the seated man’s eyes flash yellow briefly in irritation.

“We think so,” Jacob stammered.

“You **think** so?” The yellow blazed brighter.

“Since the unfortunate death of,” Jacob began, but stopped when the other man held up his hand.

“We do not speak of the dead here,” the man advised him coldly. "They have an unfortunate habit of coming back around this place."

Jacob’s body tensed. "Of course, sir, my apologies. Since the,” he scrambled to find an appropriate word, “Incident, we have been watching this man.” He set his briefcase on the edge of the desk before removing a file and handing it over.

“They had a relationship,” the man said without preamble.

“Yes, sir. And he has since made some very interesting purchases.” Reaching over the desk, he flipped the picture up to reveal the detailed expense report that they had gathered.

Looking over the sheet, the man’s eyes flared briefly and then settled once again to a dull brown. “Talk to this man. Find out exactly what he knows. If he has the item, retrieve it. I don’t need to tell you its importance to our plans.”

“No, sir,” Jacob said, despite his trembling.

“And Jacob,” the man began, his eyes flaring brilliantly yellow as he looked up, trapping Jacob within his gaze. He smiled coldly as he pushed images into the younger man’s mind. When he felt that his point had been sufficiently made, he slowly closed his eyes, severing the connection to the younger man. “You do not want to fail me again.”

Jacob trembled for a moment, swallowing roughly as his mind replayed the images it had just been force-fed. His stomach rolled violently, and he closed his eyes as he tried to push them away. Without bothering to retrieve the file, he turned to walk out of the office.

“Take the Nafmis with you. It may prove useful if there is any resistance,” the man said as he turned his chair towards the window, already dismissing him from his thoughts.

Jacob nodded and then walked out of the office. Once he was clear, he ran to the bathroom. He barely made it to the first open stall before he skidded to his knees and lost the contents of his stomach. As he knelt there, his body covered in sweat and shaking uncontrollably, he knew that, if the visions the man had foisted onto him were true, failure was *not* an option.

~*~

Early the next morning, Jacob made his way through the slips of the small marina. He tugged his sunglasses down his long straight nose as he looked around. Despite the early hour, the air was picking up that oppressive feeling that signaled that it was going to be another scorcher. Pushing his sunglasses back up, Jacob pushed aside the errant thought and adjusted the briefcase in his hand, trying not to think about the object contained within. Consulting the small leather-bound notebook he’d retrieved from his breast pocket, Jacob confirmed that he was at the correct slip. The boat he needed was moored near the end of the dock. As he approached, he pasted a charming smile on his face, which he used to greet the blond-haired man come up from below deck.

“Carlos Ramirez?” he called out, catching the man’s attention.

Turning at the sound of his name, Carlos ran a cautious brown gaze at the man standing on the deck beside his boat. Expensive suit, too-longish surfer hair, wrong shoes for a boat. “Yeah,” he answered dully.

“My name is Jacob Delaney. I represent,” he began.

Carlos cut him off, his jaw ticking in annoyance, “I know who you are.”

“Permission to come aboard?” Jacob questioned, keeping the smile in place even as he heard the disdain in Carlos’s voice.

“No.” Ever since Amber’s death, he had been expecting some kind of visit from the firm she worked for.

“Carlos, I come in a gesture of good will,” Jacob began again.

“I have nothing to say to you. Or your people. Vete.” Carlos replied and turned away from the man.

“I really wish you hadn’t said that.”

Carlos turned around, intending to tell the man what he could do with his wishes but when he turned, the man was already on board, not more than arm’s length away. He masked his fear of this visitor beneath his anger. “Get off my boat.” He had no chance to duck the fist that connected with his jaw. Pain flared through his head and he crumbled to the deck.

~*~

“Wake up, Carlos,” Jacob said softly, then reached out and back-handed the restrained man. “We’ve only just begun.”

Carlos gave his head a shake to clear his mind before looking up through swollen eyes at the man in front of him. The angle of his head caused blood to drip from his broken nose over his mouth and down his throat. He spat off to one side and heard pieces of his tooth hit the wooden floor.

“We’ve been here for hours, Carlos. You could save yourself a lot of pain if you just tell me what I want to know,” Jacob said, his voice holding a false note of concern.

“Chinga tu madre, cabron!” Carlos spat again, this time narrowly missing the man’s shoes.

“Carlos, Carlos,” Jacob said as he grabbed Carlo’s chin, his thumb digging into the flesh covering the remains of the shattered tooth. “We know that you borrowed your employer’s boat to go out near the wreckage of the Christina Theresa. We know you borrowed a great deal of deep water diving equipment, some of which was not brought back. You went down to the ship, didn’t you?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tell me, bring back any pretty baubles? Say, an emerald necklace?”

Carlos’s eyes widened in fear for a moment, before settling into blazing hatred, “I won’t tell you anything. Amber’s dead because of you people and that damn necklace!”

“So, you do know what I’m talking about. Lying to me is not good,” Jacob told him. “Now, what did you do with the necklace?”

“I’m not telling you jack,” Carlos muttered.

“I was really hoping it wouldn’t come to this,” Jacob said as he walked over to the table where he had set his briefcase down. Snapping it open, he pulled out the small metal box and set it on the tabletop. “Have you ever seen a Nafmis in action before, Carlos?” Jacob asked him idly.

Carlos looked at the box with trepidation. It may look small, however after his recent experience, he had learned that big danger often came from small items. And knowing these people, big danger was in that box. He had stubbornly remained silent through the beatings that Jacob had given him, but he didn’t know how much more he could take.

“It really is a beautiful thing,” Jacob said as he pulled his notebook from his pocket and flipped it open. “It lives only to devour, destroying everything in its wake. A true eating machine.”

“How can you work for them?” Carlos questioned. “How can you live with yourself?”

Walking over to Carlos, he leaned down and whispered in his ear, “They pay me an obscene amount of money, Carlos. I sleep on twelve hundred thread count sheets. I bought my brand-new Porsche in cash. I have a different woman willing to whore herself to me every night. You'd be surprised how a few luxuries make things far more palatable,” Jacob assured him. “Now, I'm going to give you one last chance. Tell me what I want to know."

When Carlos refused to answer, Jacob sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself. You'll spill your guts eventually. Perhaps literally." Stepping around the box to stand behind it, Jacob took out his notebook, flipped it open and began to murmur in Latin. As he did, he unlatched the box next to him before stepping back and boosting himself up to sit comfortably on the table.

Carlos watched as the lid of the box sprung open. Jacob gave it a nudge with his foot, tipping the box on its side facing Carlos. A metallic baseball-sized object rolled out and stopped at his feet. It rested for a moment before it started to rock slowly and unfold. He squirmed in his chair, pulling his feet away as the ball opened to reveal a multitude of legs. The head appeared next, the creature flipping itself over onto its feet. It swung its head around, antennae unfolding and moving as if feeling the air. It turned toward Carlos, the empty eyes latching onto him. The creature’s mouth opened, a milky viscous fluid dripping from it as it let out a hiss.

“You bastard,” Carlos muttered, trying to push his chair back away from the creature, struggling with increasing panic. His eyes widened when he saw the creature begin to grow.

“I can call it off Carlos, if you tell me what I want to know!” Jacob said over the hissing of the Nafmis.

“No!”

“So be it,” Jacob said with a negligent shrug. “Word of advice, though. I wouldn’t move too much. It can’t see all that well, but its drawn to body heat and movement.”

Carlos’s breath hitched in his throat, and he forced himself to still. He shuddered when the antennae crawled over his ankle with a feather light touch. The Nafmis turned its head towards him again and doubled in size before it opened its mouth and hissed loudly at Carlos. Jacob turned his head away with a wince as the Nafmis bit down on Carlos’s ankle, crushing the bone with a single bite.

Carlos screamed.

~*~

“I trust you have good news for me this time, Jacob,” the older man said without looking up from the documents spread out on his desk.

Jacob swallowed nervously. He had been dreading coming back to face this man. “The necklace was retrieved from the Christina Theresa," he began without preamble, “And was immediately destroyed.”

“Mr. Ramirez knows for a fact that it has been destroyed?”

Jacob nodded slowly. As the Nafmis demon had begun feasting on Carlos’s various extremities, he had been far more forthcoming. “Yes, sir, he was there for both the retrieval and the destruction.”

“I assume that Mr. Ramirez was not the guilty party.” Yellow eyes flashed dangerously as they met his.

Stepping closer to the desk over his body's objections, Jacob opened the file clenched in his hand and took out some pictures and laid them out on the desk. “It was destroyed by a man named Winchester,” Jacob told him.

“John Winchester,” the man hissed, "Of course."

“Um, no,” Jacob frowned as he looked down at the file he held. “Dean Winchester. However, John and his son, Samuel, were present. As well as Samuel’s wife, Katarina Callum-Winchester.”

The man swore under his breath and his eyes flared brighter. “I assume that Katarina’s elder sister, Evangeline, was there also?”

“Yes, sir. According to Mr. Ramirez, she was the one who retrieved the necklace. It took some digging into the archives, parts of the files were either deleted or buried, but it seems that Ev-,” Jacob began.

“I am well aware of Evangeline’s previous employment with this firm. I am also well acquainted with both families,” the man growled in growing irritation, his visage rippling to reveal the demon beneath.

Jacob shrank back, feeling the waves of dark anger that emanated in his direction. He didn’t want to risk this man, *demon*, killing the messenger.

“That little red headed bitch was allowed to leave here with *far* more information than I am comfortable with. And there are only two people that she could have gotten that information from. And I am certain that the same person that gave her the information is the same one who tried to bury her file.”

“Well sir, she had been assigned to work under Lilah Morgan, who is on special assignment in a Hell dimension,” Jacob advised him looking down at the file to avoid looking into the man’s eerie stare.

“And McDonald? Where is he?”

“He was shot and killed...”

The man snorted, “He’s hardly dead. Find him, and this time make sure he stays dead. Bring me his head.”

Jacob turned and walked out of the office. Outside the thick oak door, he snagged one of the passing interns and looked at him darkly. “I need you to look in the file archive for me,” he told him, staring at him with a frown.


	2. One

_~San Antonio, Texas~_

 

The “late” Lindsey McDonald let himself into the spacious apartment and tossed his keys onto the entry table. He flipped through the mail he had gathered from the lobby, a smirk crossing his face as he read the word “Occupant” stamped across the front. Short of the few bills that came for the apartment under a fake name, all his mail came addressed "Occupant" or "Current Resident". Of course, to anyone that might actually send him something under his real name, he was dead.

So far, being dead had worked out to his advantage. He had kept off everyone’s radar, especially Wolfram and Hart’s, Angel’s too. Seeing as both of them probably wanted him dead for real this time, using a fake name and flying low was a small price to pay for staying *this* side of six feet under.

Walking into the kitchen, he dropped the junk mail onto the counter and yanked open the fridge to pull out a bottle of beer. He tossed the cap of the bottle aside casually and took a long drink. On his way to the living room, he snagged the morning's paper he hadn't yet finished. He was halfway across the room when the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

Stopping in his tracks, he listened intently to the noises around him. He could hear the wailing of the police sirens in the street below, the whirring click of the air conditioning and the various noises from the apartments around him. It was the noises beneath that made him pause; the skittering of little feet against the hardwood floor and a faint hissing noise. He turned slowly, his bright blue eyes peering through the dimly lit room.

“Who’s there?” He shifted the beer bottle in his hand as he looked around, preparing to use it as a weapon if need be.

“Lindsey, long time no see,” came the voice from the shadows.

Spinning around, Lindsey peered into the darkness. He caught a momentary shift in the shadows just before a fist to his stomach knocked the wind from him. Wheezing, Lindsay staggered backward.

“Who,” Lindsey half coughed as a shadow detached itself from the rest and stepped towards him. As he moved closer, the darkness that had cloaked him faded away and looked up at the man, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to put a name to the face.

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

“Can’t say I do,” Lindsey said roughly, attempting to straighten up, one arm wrapped around his torso.

“I was one of the people you treated as your peons,” came the reply, then followed swiftly by a vicious kick to the jaw.

Lindsey’s head snapped back, as a second strike took him off his feet. Stars crossed his vision as the back of his head bounced off the floor. “Jacob," he croaked a few moments later when his vision cleared enough to look up, “Jacob Delaney," he clarified as the memory returned. He licked at the blood trickling from his split lip, spitting it off to one side before attempting to get up.

“You do recall. I'm impressed, but please, don't get up on my account." Jacob kicked again, catching Lindsay in the elbow and knocking him back to the ground.

Groaning sharply, Lindsey rolled to protect the worst of his injuries. He spat again to get rid of the heavy coppery taste of blood. Wiping this face roughly with the back of one hand, he glared at Jacob with hooded eyes. “Yeah, I remember you,” he began. “You were the copy room guy, weren’t you? Or were you the one who brought me my coffee?”

Jacob laughed darkly. “Cute. I was a junior associate. But I wouldn’t expect you to remember that.” Leaning down, he grabbed Lindsey’s face, being sure to apply pressure to the bruises already blooming on his skin, and stared at him coldly. “Wolfram and Hart’s golden boy. How do you like being an outcast?”

“It felt great until you hit me," Lindsey replied with an angry edge to his voice. “How did you get in here?”

“Really, Lindsey. Did you really think that the only people who’d be looking for you would be like you? You’re getting soft in your old age...” Jacob advised him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Lindsey gripped the neck of the bottle, inching his arm slightly, trying to get into a good defensive position.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jacob said smugly, looking down at Lindsey. Without a word, he pointed to a spot beside him.

Turning his head, Lindsey peered into the shadows, a frown marring his handsome features. His frown turned to surprise and he shifted back away from the small creature that crawled along the floor towards him. He could hear the same skittering of feet on the floor that had first caught his attention. As he watched, the creature stopped, antennae unfolding and a small head lifting. He felt his breath catch in his lungs as it pinned him with a bleak, black stare.

“How did you get that in here?” Lindsey backed further away from the creature. He stopped when it hissed at him. “I had this place warded against demon entry.”

“We’re Wolfram and Hart,” Jacob replied, as if that were the answer to any question Lindsey may have, which it probably was.

“So, what are you doing here?” Lindsey’s eyes never left the insect demon that sat hissing at him, its eyes watching his every movement. As he watched, it doubled in size. He thought back to what he had read about the demon before him, and the more he remembered, the more he was worried.

“Let’s just say that I’m on special assignment,” Jacob said smugly.

“So, you moved from junior associate to lackey? Gotta say, sounds like a demotion to me,” Lindsey replied, forcing his voice to stay steady.

Jacob kicked him viciously in the stomach, forcing Lindsey onto his back. As he lay on the floor gasping for breath, Jacob came over to him and grabbed his chin, making sure this time to dig one blunt nail into the split skin at the corner of his mouth. Yanking Lindsey's head up, he snarled in his face. “Wolfram and Hart's under new management. And guess who their right-hand man is."

“Yeah, I know all about being their right-hand man," Lindsey flexed his hand, remembering. "You might wanna get out while you've still got yours."

“I'm not too worried. See, I’ve been a good little boy. When I kill you, I’ll be given the keys to the kingdom."

“I’ve had better than you try to kill me. Turns out that’s not an easy thing to do,” Lindsey laughed.

“But I know your weakness,” Jacob smiled coldly at Lindsey. Sliding one hand into the inside pocket of his jacket, he withdrew a long wickedly bladed knife from a sheath in his jacket's inner pocket. “Truthfully though, I’m not interested in you. At least, not as the priority.”

“Oh really, cause from where I’m sitting, things look different.”

“What I’m more interested in is information,” Jacob said, rising and walking around Lindsey.

“What about?” he watched Jacob out of the corner of his eye. Flicking his gaze to the demon Lindsey noticed that it didn’t react to Jacob’s movements. He tried to think back to one of the incantations that may have been used to cloak Jacob’s presence from the demon, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember one that would be effective.

“Recently, some information may have been leaked to someone about an artifact that Wolfram and Hart was very interested in acquiring,” Jacob said slowly, bending down to take Lindsey’s chin. “And I need to know what other information they were given.”

“I haven’t talked to anyone about Wolfram and Hart. Goes with the whole pretending to be dead,” Lindsey replied.

“I don’t believe you. There’re only two people that could have known the information.”

“You’d be surprised how many leaks are in that place,” Lindsey snapped at him, pulling his head back from the man's hand. He stopped when the demon hissed louder and moved closer to him.

“Not with Mr. Huang Se in charge. No one would dare to leak information. Help yourself here, Lindsey. If you tell me what I want to know, I promise to kill you quickly,” Jacob said with a cold smile.

“What, you want me to lie? I walked away from everyone in my old life.”

“And to think you were their golden boy,” Jacob sneered. “Tell me how the hell Evangeline Callum and the Winchesters knew about the Lavelle Emerald!”

Lindsey’s gaze snapped up to Jacob. His quick movement set the demon on edge and it hissed louder at him, its jaws opening to drip a thick milky substance down its fangs, but he ignored it. “Evan?”

“You remember her,” Jacob quirked an eyebrow at Lindsey as he heard the tone of his voice.

Lindsey glared at the man. _How could he forget?_ "I didn’t tell her anything.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jacob snapped.

"I don’t give a shit if you believe it or not. I haven’t talked to her since she left Wolfram and Hart,” Lindsey retorted. _And me_ , he added silently.

“We know she tried to contact you a few months ago,” Jacob snarled, grabbing Lindsey by the hair and yanking his head back. “What did she want?”

“I don’t know!” he snarled back.

“She tries to contact you, and then a few months later, the Lavelle Emerald is destroyed. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who told her about the stone.”

Lindsey pulled his head forward, ignoring the pain it caused. Shooting a glance at the demon that was beginning to inch its way closer to him, he wiped his hand across the back of his mouth and spit the blood from within at the demon. “Well genius, if you bothered to look into her history,” he replied slowly. Ignoring the demon and its warning hiss, he pushed himself slowly to his feet. “I didn’t tell her anything. And I am not telling **you** anything either, you son of a bitch.”

“You really should have helped yourself here,” Jacob said slowly and then moved away from Lindsey.

Hearing the hiss growing, Lindsey turned and was ready to step on the demon and show Jacob that he wasn’t afraid of the thing. As he turned, he took a step back in surprise as the demon doubled in size before him. As he continued to watch, it doubled again and reared its torso back on its legs. A ripple of fear ran through him as a multitude of arms began to unfold from under the exoskeleton of the demon. Each arm was tipped with a long, flat claw that Lindsey didn’t need to feel to know that it would be razor sharp.

Turning its head, the demon glared at Lindsey with glowing red eyes and slashed one arm out, catching him across the throat. Blood flowed warmly over Lindsey’s neck and he felt a true moment of fear as the demon raised another claw and moved to slash at him again.

The Nafmis took another swing at him. The tip of its claw sliced along his abdomen, tearing through his clothes. It was so quick that at first, he didn’t even feel the pain. That came a moment later and it felt as though someone had touched him with a match and he’d burst into white hot flames. He gasped as the blood spilled from the wound. Falling backwards, he tried to scramble away from the insect-like demon.

“Just tell me what I want to know Lindsey and I’ll call it off,” Jacob said to him, walking slowly alongside of him.

“Go fuck yourself,” Lindsey answered, but the strain of it caused more blood to spill from the wound. He had to get away from here. He had to warn her.

“I have women to do that for me,” Carlos told him idly as the Nafmis grew larger and crawled after Lindsey’s retreating form.

Lindsey cried out in pain as the demon slashed at him once more, its claw tearing the flesh of his back. The Nafmis hissed loudly at the cry of pain and its arms quivered in something akin to glee at the sound. As Lindsey tried to crawl away, one of the arms lashed out and grabbed at Lindsey’s leg, dragging him backwards. He tried to grab onto the leg of one of the chairs, but it slipped through his bloody fingers. He kicked at the demon, but his foot only glanced off of its exoskeleton. As he was lifted from the ground, Lindsey grabbed at Jacob as his body twisted around in the demon’s grasp.

Jacob jerked back from Lindsey’s grasp, the knife he held clattering to the floor. He stepped back from the Nafmis as his concentration was broken, revealing his presence to the Nafmis long enough for it to display interest. He quickly stepped back and muttered the incantation, once more hiding himself from the demon, but warily stayed out of range of its limited sight.

Listening carefully, Lindsey heard the words that the other man said and tried to recall the translation. It was a fairly simple verse, but he didn’t know if he was going to be able to voice it. His eyes widened in fear as the demon brought him closer to its mouth, the jaws opening to reveal translucent razor-sharp teeth the dripped a thick, milky substance. The multitude of arms quivered and struck out at him, the claws slashing at his skin, ripping through cloth and skin. He kicked his leg out in pain and connected with the demon’s jaw. It hissed in pain and Lindsey was able to shake his leg free of its grasp. He landed on the floor with a painful jar and groaned sharply.

Crawling along the floor, Lindsey grabbed at the knife that had fallen to the floor. When the demon reached out to grab him again, Lindsey slashed the blade at the demon. The hard claw fell to the floor, and Lindsey snatched it, holding it like a weapon before him. The demon’s hiss became a wail as a warm, sticky substance sprayed over him. The putrid scent of the demon’s blood quickly filled the room.

“You son of a bitch,” Jacob snarled and moved to take the knife from Lindsey’s hand, but jumped back when the blade slashed at him. He wasn’t quite fast enough and the tip of the blade dragged across his thigh, tearing the expensive fabric and leaving a scratch across the skin. Jacob hissed in surprise and pain and then sent a frantic look towards the Nafmis as its hiss stopped and the head moved around. The antennae turned towards Jacob as they detected the scent of the new blood in the air.

Using the demon’s inattention, Lindsey scrambled away and ducked behind one of the chairs. He heard Jacob’s footsteps move frantically across the hardwood floor as the Nafmis used its sense of smell to follow him despite the incantation hiding him. Peering over the back of the chair, Lindsey pushed himself to his feet and hobbled towards his bedroom. He slammed the door behind him, before dragging the nightstand from his bedside to wedge against the door.

Wincing, he limped over to his bureau and threw the doors open. Pawing through the neatly folded clothes, he grabbed a metal box buried in the back and tucked it under one arm. Grasping a small leather-bound journal, he jumped slightly as there came a loud crash and the sound of shattering glass from the living room. A moment later something thudded against the bedroom door.

Moving across the room, he threw open the curtains and pulled the window open. Leaning over the window ledge, Lindsey gauged the distance to the ground and didn’t like the odds. But when the thudding came from the bedroom door again, he knew that he really didn’t have a choice and boosted himself up into the window. Bracing himself as best he could, he curled his arms around his chest, holding the box and the journal close. With a clenched jaw, he threw himself from the window and felt his body drop sharply. He groaned as his feet impacted with the ground and pain radiated up his legs, taking his breath away.

Collapsing to the ground, he lay for a moment trying to drag in a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he looked up at the bedroom window and found Jacob scowling down at him. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Lindsey tried to grin, but knew that it didn’t come out as cocky as he would have liked. When Jacob’s head disappeared from the window, Lindsey knew that he didn’t have a lot of time. He turned and hobbled towards the parking lot, each step stabbing through his leg and he wondered briefly if he’d broken an ankle in the jump.

Rounding the corner of the building, he saw the battered old truck sitting in the parking lot and sent a prayer heavenward. Yanking the door open, he threw the box and the book along the passenger seat and pulled himself into the driver’s seat. Reaching under the seat, he felt for the spare key, almost crying in triumph when his fingers slid over it. Jamming the key into the engine, he pumped the gas and urged the whirring engine to start.

He jumped when Jacob reached through the window and grabbed at the collar of his shirt. Balling his fist, Lindsey struck out at the other man and connected with his jaw, sending him backwards. Throwing the truck into gear, Lindsey stomped on the gas pedal, groaning as the truck bumped over the curb and rattled along the lawn before dropping down off the curb and cutting into traffic. He ignored the honks of the horns as he straightened the fishtailing truck and urged more speed from the engine.

Keeping one hand on the wheel and one eye on the road, he leaned over and snapped open the glove box. Rooting around inside, he pulled out the cell phone he kept inside for emergencies. He quickly dialled a number as he bumped along the road. Tucking the phone between his shoulder and his cheek, he wiped his hand over his face and grimaced when he saw the white demon *blood* that clung to his hand. If he remembered correctly, it wasn’t exactly blood, and if it was what he thought it was, then he was going to be in for some rough times.

“Hello,” came the reply on the other end of the line.

“It’s me. I need your help,” Lindsey said sharply. “I need you to find someone for me.”

“Who?”

“Someone from my past. A certain redhead.”

“You were told to cut all ties with your past. It’s easier that way.”

“I did cut ties. I just didn’t expect my past to come back and bite me in the ass, or any other extremities,” he gave the phone a lopsided smile.

“You sure you want to open old wounds like this?” The man on the other end asked him, his voice serious.

“Just find her,” Lindsey replied and hit the button, effectively cutting off the man’s next words.


	3. Two

Cheers filled the basement as the two combatants warily circled each other. Sam’s muscles tensed as he watched his brother, trying to anticipate his next move. Dean ran through possible scenarios in his head, quickly dismissing some and keeping others as possible future moves.

“Watch him closely, Sam,” Kit warned her husband from the sidelines where she sat on one of the old weapons trunks, cradling Jimmy in her lap as they watched Sam and Dean practice their hand to hand combat. “He’s a tricky bugger.”

Sitting cross legged on the floor at the side of the mat, Evan curled her arms around JD as the young boy watched his father with rapt attention. She rested her chin on the top of his small head and watched the two men. Sam crouched his knees a little, balancing his weight evenly while Dean rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. Watching the concentration on their faces, a mischievous smile stole across her lips.

"Kit, put your shirt back on!” she said in a shocked voice, looking over at her fully clothed sister then back at Sam, who flicked a dark gaze at her, knowing she was trying to distract him.

And it worked. Dean took advantage of Sam’s moment of inattention and struck. Balling his fist, he swung it out at Sam’s side. The padded glove he wore struck Sam’s rib, its ink-covered surface smudging the grey sweatshirt that Sam wore. Sam growled as his brother’s punch landed.

“Hit for Dean,” Evan called, and marked it on the board beside her.

“That shouldn’t count, you distracted him!”

“Sam has to be able to concentrate despite what’s going on around him,” Evan countered.

Ignoring the girls’ squabbling, Sam and Dean faced off against each other. Sam struck out with his fist and caught Dean in the chest. Kit cried in triumph as Dean fell to one knee. Rising immediately, Dean swung his fist at Sam and landed a blow to his stomach. Sam gasped for breath for a second, but then struck back, his fist swinging for Dean’s jaw. Raising an arm in defence, Dean caught Sam’s wrist and pushed his brother away. Sam moved back towards his brother, trying to get him to fall back, but Dean stood his ground.

"You know, Sis, we could get rich with this. Put a ring in the back yard, strip these two down to their skivvies and sell tickets to the lonely housewives," Kit said over the sounds of Sam and Dean's fists landing on their targets.

Dean looked at Kit sharply, his focus lost for a moment. Sam moved in for the kill shot and swung his fist at Dean's jaw, sending his brother to the floor.

"You are so going to pay for that," Dean muttered as he reached up for Sam's hand, his brother helping him to his feet. "Not bad, Sammy. You had some pretty good shots."

"Yeah, but I notice you needed your woman to save you," Sam replied with a smug grin.

"So did you," Evan retorted at Sam.

"Okay you, your turn," Dean said as he came over to where Evan sat. He dropped down beside her and took the bottle of water she handed him. Reaching over, he took JD from her lap.

"Do I have to?" Evan groused, letting JD go to his father. When Dean grinned smugly at her, she sighed. Rising to her feet, she adjusted the cropped t-shirt she wore and tightened her pony tail. Standing in front of Sam, she looked up at him. "Oh, this is so not fair. He's like a freakin’ mountain!"

"He can't help it if you're short," Kit grinned from the sidelines when her sister threw a dark look at her.

"I'm not short. I'm vertically challenged," Evan retorted as she pulled on the sparring gloves.

"You can't let the size of your opponent intimidate you," Sam advised her.

"Use your size to your advantage," Dean told her. He then whispered to JD, "Your mom's going to get her butt kicked." JD giggled, and Evan quirked one eyebrow at Dean.

"You're supposed to be cheering _for_ me, not _against_ me," Evan whispered.

For the past few weeks they'd had weekly sparring matches. They would draw names as to who was matched up against whom and what they would be fighting with. Since Sam had been attacked by the spirit of James T. Putnam and had his soul ripped away from him, and Evan had made the perilous dive down to the wreck of the Christina Theresa, they had been taking it easy. There had been very few signs of paranormal activity, so they had started the sparring matches to keep themselves sharp.

"Just remember," Sam began, “that your opponent has weak spots. Look for them and attack."

As he spoke, Evan flicked a gaze over Sam's long form. In her mind she heard another voice, one from long ago. A small, sad smile touched her lips. She pushed it aside and forced herself to concentrate. With a decisive move, she swung her foot out and caught Sam behind the knee, yanking him down. He landed hard on his hip. He pushed himself up onto his feet and looked at Evan.

"Good job," Sam said with a touch of admiration. “Quick reflexes.”

She grinned at him and he used Evan's inattention to strike out at her, his fist flying towards her shoulder. Evan ducked his swing and as it went over her head. Her thoughts flew quickly, planning, countering. She swung at his exposed side. He grunted as she landed the punch, the ink on the gloves she wore making a mark on his sweatshirt. Sam countered by swinging his arm back and landing a glancing blow off the side of her cheek, leaving a streak of ink across her cheekbone.

"Dammit," she muttered as she backed away from him. She quickly moved into a fighting stance and braced herself for Sam's attack. It came quickly, and she threw up an arm to block him. As his hand sailed by her head, she grabbed his wrist pulling his torso down with one hand and then jumped up, twisting her legs around his neck, sliding around it so she was facing him and she saw the split second of surprise on his face. Bending backwards, Evan let her own weight pull Sam further with her. Laying her hands on the mat, she moved her body, pulling him over further. Kit and Dean watched Sam flying over Evan’s inverted form. As Sam landed on the ground, Evan pushed herself up, following Sam quickly, twisting her body and legs so she landed on his chest, her legs clamped along his ribs. She pinned his shoulder to the floor and raised her other fist, grunting as she swung her fist down to his face. She stopped her hand, the glove merely millimeters from his nose.

“Boop,” she said as she just touched the glove to his nose, leaving an ink mark there. Sticking her tongue out at Sam, she then jumped up and off him. “Like that? She asked cockily as she stepped up to him, putting her hands on her hips as she looked down at him.

"Yeah, like that," he grunted. "But even though they're down, don't get too close. They may just do this," he said as he grabbed Evan's ankle, pulling her foot from beneath her. Evan fell flat on her back with a groan. Kit laughed, then tried to smother it when Evan frowned at her. Jimmy and JD giggled as she pushed herself up. Dean shook his lowered head.

"You're an ass," she gritted as she pushed herself to her feet and frowned at him.

"You just have to be careful. They may be down, but they're not always out," Sam warned her. They were just about to go for another round when Dean's watch beeped.

"Time to get ready to go, Sammy," Dean told his brother, looking down at his watch. Sam had a late class that morning, and John was waiting for a part to come in to do some work on Edgar and Victoria's SUV, so they had decided to have their sparring match before Dean had to take Sam to the train station.

"And we have some errands to run with Mom," Kit told her sister. They had told their parents that they would be over later that morning to take their father to the bank while John had their vehicle.

"We're not going to Mom's bridge club again, are we?" Evan groaned. The last time they had spent the afternoon with their mother they'd had to sit through hours of being lectured by middle aged matrons. "It was all I could do not to stake a few of the more obnoxious ones."

"No staking the little old ladies," Dean said as he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest and kissing the top of her head.

"Just one? As an example to the others?"

"No," he replied.

"Go take your shower, Sam," Kit told her husband, turning him and pushing him towards the stairs. "You guys have less than an hour to get to the train."

Trooping up the stairs, Sam went up to the bathroom on his and Kit's side of the house to take his shower while Dean and Evan went into the kitchen to get their lunches ready. Kit brought the little boys upstairs to get them dressed. Sam met her coming out of Jimmy's room and he took JD from her for the walk down the stairs.

"Dean, hustle it," Evan advised, pushing Dean towards the kitchen door for him to go take his shower smiling at his muttered comment about her bossiness, despite her lack of stature. "I heard that!" she called after him.

"Good!" he shouted back as he mounted the stairs and went into the bathroom.

"There's my guy," Evan said as Sam passed JD over to her and she propped him up on her hip.

Kit propped Jimmy up on her hip and gave him one of his favorite crackers to gnaw on. "Any idea what time you'll be home tonight?" she asked him as he poured himself a cup of coffee while they waited for Dean to finish in the shower.

"If my lecture this afternoon doesn't go over like usual, I can make the 4:15 train. Dean will still be at work probably, will one of you be around to come pick me up?" He asked, swinging a chair around and straddling it, laying one arm along the back as he sipped his coffee.

"No problem, just give one of us a call."

"By four, I think we'll be ready to escape Mom's friends," Evan muttered under her breath and then yelped when she received a swat upside the back of her head by Nana's invisible hand. "Go hit her for a while instead!" Evan pointed at her sister. "Sheesh."

JD let out a giggle of laughter, his young gaze seeing Nana swat his Momma. Sam ducked his head and tried to stifle his laughter, whereas Kit blatantly laughed at her sister.

Evan sent her a sarcastic mimic of a laugh and then went to the hallway and shouted up the stairs, "Dean, hurry up and get your brother out of here before I make my sister a widow!"

Dean came back downstairs a few minutes later, his hair damp from his shower and dressed in his usual jeans and t-shirt. As he came into the kitchen, he walked over to Evan and stole her coffee, taking a long swallow. She quirked an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. A smirk touched her lips as she breathed in the clean scent of his soap, and the underlying scent of male and suddenly wished that he didn't have to go to work.

Leaning down, he brushed a light kiss across her lips and gave her a smirk, telling her that he knew what she was thinking. Sticking her tongue out at him, Evan snatched her coffee back from him. "Get your brother to the train station," she told him.

"Come on, Sammy," Dean said to Sam before he ruffled JD's hair. "See you tonight, Buddy," he said before walking out of the kitchen.

Sam leaned over and gave Jimmy a kiss on the head, before giving Kit a much slower, and thorough one on her mouth. He grabbed his bag from the back of the chair and followed his brother out of the house.

"Just let me throw on some fresh clothes and we'll head out," Evan said to her sister, setting JD down in his highchair. She darted out of the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time to her bedroom. Stripping out of her work out clothes, she went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Coming back into her room, she found a fresh pair of black jeans and a t-shirt laid out on the bed for her. "Thanks, Nana."

Changing quickly, Evan pulled her hair into a tight ponytail and then went back down stairs to watch the boys so Kit could run up and take a quick shower. She had their faces cleaned up and their hair brushed, despite their wails of protest, by the time Kit came back downstairs. Taking Jimmy from Evan, Kit grabbed her purse from the back of her chair and slung it over her shoulder. Evan settled JD on her hip and grabbed her own purse and they headed towards the front door.

"We'll be back soon, Nana," Kit called and felt a touch at her cheek. She smiled and shut the door behind her. Strapping the boys into their car seats, they slid into the car and Evan cranked the engine over.

As her baby began its usual rumbling purr, she waved towards the house next door when she saw Mrs. Alton standing on her front porch. The elderly lady grabbed the broom and began sweeping the porch. "That woman just does not like me,” Evan said to Kit, slipping on her sunglasses before backing the Thunderbird out of the driveway. Putting it in gear, she drove past the house and Kit waved at the woman, who waved back at her.

"She likes me," Kit snickered at the frustrated noise that Evan sent her way.

Making her way across town towards her parents' place, Evan and Kit chatted idly to each other and to the boys. Pulling up in their parents’ driveway, they found Edgar waiting for them outside the house. They frowned as he rushed down the driveway and pulled open the backdoor of the car and climbed in.

"Get me out of here," he said hastily as he slammed the door.

Looking at each other, Evan and Kit then looked at their father. "What's wrong, Dad?"

"Plans changed. A water pipe burst in the clubhouse, so your mother agreed to host the game. I've spent the past hour hiding out in my office," Edgar groused as Evan and Kit stifled their laughter.

"Well, at least we now we won't have to worry about you staking one of them," Kit said to her sister as Evan turned the car towards the bank. They dropped him off a few minutes later with the promise to come and get him if John hadn't finished with his SUV by the time he was done work so that he and Victoria could get to the airport in time for their flight. He had to head to New York for a conference and Victoria was going with him to go shopping. As Evan steered the car towards town where they could get their own errands done, she turned on the radio.

"We have to hit the hardware store to pick up some more rock salt," Kit told her, pulling the list of items from her purse. She pulled out a small baggie of animal crackers and hand the boys each one for them to munch on.

"We're we out already? I thought there was another bag in the shed," Evan glanced at her sister.

"Sam refilled the canisters in the trunks. And Dean used the rest of it in the bunker in the backyard," Kit told her, still going over the list of things they needed to pick up.

A short time after returning from Avalon, they had been having a family picnic in the backyard. When Kit jumped up to catch a wayward throw of the Frisbee from her mother, she had come down on some soft earth and had broken through. When they had pulled her out, they found an old storage bunker that had been dug into the ground and lined with slats of wood warded to protect the items inside. Inside they had found several cursed items that Nana had collected from various jobs over the years. Unfortunately, time and moisture had eroded the boards to the extent where they had collapsed when Kit landed on them.

With John and Sam's help, Dean had designed a more element proof bunker in its place. It had then been filled in with the items that Nana had collected as well as the box of shards of the Lavelle Emerald that they had brought back from Avalon. The inside of the bunker was then filled with rock salt to prevent any demonic entity from recovering the items easily.

"What else do we need to get?" Evan questioned, turning at a set of lights.

"We have to hit the gun store. Ted has a couple of boxes of empty shells for us so the boys can load them with salt," Kit said and then went on to the next item but stopped when the strains of “Highway to Hell” chimed on Evan’s cell phone.

Digging in her purse for the small pink phone, Evan flipped it open and looked at the display. She frowned at the unfamiliar number. “Hello?” She asked cautiously when she hit the button.

“Who is it?” Kit asked without looking up.

“Shhh,” she said to Kit. “Yes, this is Evan Callum. How did you get this number? Who’s this?” She looked at Kit and shook her head at her sisters questioning look.

“Sis?” Kit closed her mouth as Evan tucked the phone into her shoulder and made a shushing gesture in her direction.

“I used to work with his girlfriend when I lived in the area. We ran into each other while I was in town on a family trip last month and traded contact information. What is this about?” She asked, a streak of unease skittering down her spine. “Are you sure?” Evan said in response, shock running through her and making her go numb.

“Sis, pull the car over,” Kit said when she saw her sister’s reaction.

“Just a moment,” Evan said softly and pulled the car into the next parking lot, sliding it into an empty spot. Throwing it in park, she took a deep breath before turning her attention back to the phone. “Yes, I’m here,” she said. “Yes, I see. No, I’m in Sacramento at the moment, but I can,” she paused for a moment. “If it’s necessary, I understand. No, I know where it is. Thank you.” Evan snapped the phone shut and tossed it at her purse, not noticing that it fell to the floor.

Kit looked at her elder sister in concern. Evan’s knuckles were white around the steering wheel and her mouth was set in a thin line. “Evan?”

“That was the LA Sheriff’s Department. They just found Carlos on his boat, dead.”

"Oh, my god!” Kit hadn't known Carlos well. In fact, she had just met him a month prior when he had helped them in Avalon, but it was still a shock. Looking over at Evan, it was obvious that Evan, having known Carlos for several years before, was taking the news far harder. "Sis, I'm sorry."

"We just saw him," Evan murmured, sounding lost.

"I know. Look John's shop is just around the corner. We'll stop there and see if we can find out anything else,” Kit said advised her sister.

Nodding slowly, still a little in shock, Evan pulled out of the parking space and out of the lot. She drove the short way to the large building that housed John’s custom shop. As they got out of the car, John and Dean came out of one of the bays to greet them.

"Girls," John said as he came over to them. He frowned when he saw the looks on their faces. "What's wrong?"

"Evan?” Dean questioned, noticing how tense Evan was. "What happened?"

"Carlos is dead."

"What?” He tilted Evan's face up to look at him, peering at her pale face.

“The police called Evan while we were driving. We’re pretty sure,” Kit answered rubbing her hand down Evan’s arm.

Evan took a steadying breath, leaning into Dean unconsciously. “They want me to come identify the body. From the way Sheriff Pierce was talking, they may not be able to get his ID from fingerprints or dental records.”

“Baby, I’m sorry,” Dean said quietly, as he soothed his hands over the back of her head.

"Let's go see if we can find something else on it,” John said to them and then turned to go back into the shop. He led them into a back office where he had a computer set up. Posted up all over the walls were pages that he had retrieved from newspapers all over the country, evidence of his ongoing search for the paranormal, despite the Yellow Eyed Demon that killed his wife having been destroyed. Once a hunter, always a hunter.

Dean curled his arm around Evan shoulder and pulled her into his side, leaning down to kiss the top of her head as Kit retrieved the boys from the back of the car. JD chased after his parents and Kit quickly followed behind with Jimmy.

“JD, be careful baby,” Evan called after her son as he toddled over to one of the car seats that John had ordered in for one of the cars they were restoring and sat down.

“It looks like a boating accident,” Kit said once they had powered up the computer and began a search. She read over one of the news reports they had pulled up. She flipped through some other pages. “At least that’s the working theory with all of the news reports.”

“They don’t know the things we do,” Evan replied a frown on her face as she read over Kit’s shoulder.

“I have to agree with Evan on this,” Dean said with a shake of his head. “We see Carlos last month and then suddenly he’s dead? It’s too much of a co-incidence.”

“Evan, are you going to be okay to do this?” John asked her worriedly as he watched the slight shake of her hand.

“I’ll be fine,” Evan said automatically but had to wonder if she was. “We’d better hit the road if we want to get there.”

“Sis, we can’t drive down there. It’ll take too long,” Kit countered gently and then braced herself for Evan’s coming reaction. “We’re going to have to fly.”

Evan paled, “We can get there in,” she stammered, then thought about it “Nine hours.”

“That’s if we drive straight through and don’t hit traffic. If we fly, we can be there in just over an hour.”

Evan groaned weakly, but then hung her head as she gave in to the futility of fighting. “Alright, make the calls.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there with you,” Kit said softly, putting her hand on Evan’s shoulder. “We’ll drop the boys off at Angie’s first.”

“Leave them here with me,” John said to the girls. “I think I can take care of them for a while.”

Turning to Evan, Dean cupped the back of her neck and pushed her chin up, “Are you going to be okay with this?”

She nodded slowly. “I’ll be okay.” Looking up at him, she saw the skeptical look on his face and gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be okay.”

“I’ll call Sam and let him know. We’ll meet you down there,” Dean said.

Kit went out to the car and got the boys diaper bag and brought it in for John. “If they get to be too much for you John, just call Angie.”

John sent her a fond smile. “Kit, I did raise the boys.”

“We know, John,” Evan gave him a smile.

“You guys head to the airport,” Dean said. “We’ll see you in a few hours.”

“We’ll give you a call when we get there,” Kit said to them as she slung her purse over her shoulder.

Grabbing her own purse from where she dropped it on John’s desk, Evan put it over her shoulder. She went over to where JD sat on the chair and knelt in front of him. “Hey bud,” she said to him. “Momma has to go out for a little while. You’re gonna stay here with Daddy and Pappa John.”

“Pappa John?” John questioned, arching one thick black eyebrow at Evan.

Kit grinned at the look he sent her sister. She handed Jimmy over to John and set the diaper bag down on his desk. She leaned over and gave Jimmy a kiss on the top of his head. “Momma will be home soon,” she told the young boy.

“I’ll take good care of him,” John assured her.

“Oh, if Daddy’s SUV isn’t fixed by the time he’s done work, you’ll have to go get him,” Evan said to Dean as he swung JD up onto his hip and walked Evan to the car.  
”Don’t worry, I’ll go get him. Go,” Dean told her.

“See you later,” Kit said to them as she climbed into the car. Evan slid in behind the wheel and cranked over the engine. She pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed towards the nearest airport.

When they got to the airport, Kit and Evan made their way to the ticketing counter. The harried woman behind the counter pasted a smile on her face and looked up at them. “How can I help you?”

“We need two tickets on the next flight to Los Angeles,” Kit told the woman.

“Anything but a window seat,” Evan piped up.

Ten minutes later, Evan pushed Kit into the window seat and then took her seat at the aisle. As she sat down, she closed her eyes and gripped the arms of the seat.

“Sis, we haven’t even taken off yet,” Kit whispered.

“This was your idea, not mine,” Evan snapped, her nerves already on edge.

“Oh, this going to be a long flight,” Kit muttered to herself as the Captain’s voice came over the P.A.


	4. Three

“I am growing weary with this, Jacob,” the man said with an eerie calm as he steepled his fingers in front of him. His eyes flared yellow as he looked at the young man standing before him. The fear in the young man cloaked him like an unbearable scent. “You let McDonald get away.”

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Jacob said in resignation. He knew that trying to make excuses would only anger the man even more, so he prepared himself to take the blame. 

“And did he tell you anything of the Callum bitch?” The yellow eyed man growled.

“He said that he hasn’t spoken to her since she left the firm. And that he had no idea why she had tried to contact him,” Jacob said.

“Do you believe him?” 

“No Sir. I think he knows something,” Jacob replied with the faint hope that if the man thought there was still some information to be gathered, he might be willing to let him live.

“No, Jacob,” the man began. “You have proven yourself unfit for this job.” Pinning the young man within his stare, the man’s eyes flared to a bright, sickly yellow. 

Jacob’s body trembled in fear as the images flooded his mind. He gasped as the pain of each images depicted was inflicted upon his body. His arms twisted awkwardly, his legs buckled beneath him and his heart pounded in his chest. The man sat at his desk, his eyes coldly staring at the man before him as he writhed in the throes of death. A small smile tipped his lips as Jacob sat up sharply, threw his head back and spewed blood from his mouth and the front of his shirt exploded with a glorious bloom of red.

When Jacob’s screams of pain stilled and his body fell to the floor, the man reached over his desk, grabbed the receiver and punched a button on the phone. “Get me Drogue.” He ordered calmly. Then as an afterthought he added. “And get someone from maintenance to clean this trash up in my office.”

The young woman on the other side of the office door cringed as she heard the final order. Having heard the screams from the office, she knew what the “trash” to be disposed of was, and it sent a chill down her spine.

A short time later, the door to his office opened without warning. The man turned in his chair and looked at the tall man striding towards his desk, a frown on his scarred and tattooed face. Letting himself into the man’s mind, he felt a rare sort of pleasure at the man’s memories, of the atrocities he had wreaked over the years.

“Why have you brought me here? Our arrangement ended decades ago,” Drogue Roussel snarled. Despite his towering size, the smaller man behind the desk sent even a ripple of fear through him.

“I have a job for you,” the yellow eyed man said to him, throwing a file across the desk to him.

“Why should I accept?” Drogue replied coldly. His scarred face betraying nothing, one milky white eye staring at him.

“He,” the man pointed to the one picture, “is one of yours. You can have him. All I want is his head afterward. The others, I want dead. They are an annoyance to me. In return, I will give the locations of the others and let you have free reign over them.” He handed Drogue a piece of paper. “Her last known whereabouts was in Sacramento. He’ll find her.”

Drogue frowned for a moment, but when the implications of what he was being given sunk in, his frown turned to a twisted smile. “They’re as good as dead.”

A sick smile spread across the others man’s face. “Drogue, take this with you,” he said, waving his hand negligently over his desk. The air began to crackle with energy and a dark shape the size of a large house cat lay curled up on the desktop. It shuddered for a moment before long thick, fur covered legs began to unfold from under the body. The body began to rise and a head unfolded from under the body. A multitude of eyes covered the head and when its mouth opened, a pair of thick antenna-like limbs slid out of it and then hung below the mouth when it closed. The demon turned towards the man and opened its mouth again and emitted a sharp squeal of protest.

Reaching into his desk drawer, the man pulled out two small vials and uncorked them. Dripping a few drops of the red, viscous liquid from within into the demons mouth his smile grew cold. The demon shuddered in something akin to ecstasy at the taste of it. Tipping the vials more, the demon reared back on its four front legs and felt along the vials and gripped the man’s wrist while it drank the rest.

“What is it?” Drogue questioned, his hard face covering the revulsion at the sight of the spider-like demon. 

“It’s a Morkas demon,” the man replied simply. “It will help you locate Callum and McDonald.” Touching the top of the demon’s head, he then pointed at Drogue and the demon turned towards him, its eyes glowing a bright red for a moment before it ran across the desk and launched itself at Drogue. Its long, thick legs wrapped around the mans muscled forearm and seemed to settle itself comfortably, it’s head ducking under its body.

“Take the Nafmis with you as well. It may be useful once you find them,” the man said and then turned his back on Drogue and stared out the window.

Drogue looked in disgust at the hair-covered demon clinging to his arm, but his desire to get his hands on the locations of the other Immortals outweighed his disgust. When this was over, he would be closer to claiming the Prize.


	5. Four

Evan pulled the rental car, a minivan, into the parking lot of the coroner’s office and shut the engine off. “She did it to me on purpose,” she grumbled.

“She did not do it on purpose Sis,” Kit assured her with a smile. When they had landed in LAX, their first stop had been at the counter for the rental cars. The agent behind the counter, who Kit had to admit, had been ignoring them while she talked to her boyfriend on the phone while they had waited. That was until Evan jabbed a finger down on the phone and disconnected her call. She had nearly glared at them as she handed them the keys to the mini-van with a snarky smile.

“I should phone her supervisor and lodge a complaint,” Evan growled at her sister.

“You’ll do no such thing,” Kit said levelly. She knew Evan’s irritation came from the tension of the flight. She herself hadn’t felt that great during it and had spent most of the 90-minute flight pacing the aisle as much as she’d been allowed. As it was, her stomach was still roiling from the flight.

Evan looked up at imposing pink façade of the LA County morgue and shuddered. She had hoped to never come back to this place once she had left LA. Guess wishes weren’t coming true in this lifetime.

“You okay, Sis?” Kit asked her softly as she put a hand on her arm.

Evan nodded and sent her sister a small smile. “Let’s get this over with.”

Pushing the doors open, they climbed out into the almost oppressive heat and walked up the steps to the building. They were buffeted by waves of cool air from the air conditioning the moment they entered. Taking off their sunglasses, they let their eyes adjust to the dim interior of the office foyer before walking over to the desk.

Kit stopped when she saw the sign on the wall behind the receptionist. “You have got to be kidding me,” she said in surprise.

Evan turned to look at the sign and a wry smile crossed her face as she saw the sign for “Skeletons in the Closet,” Gift store. “Oh yeah, there’s a gift shop here.”

“A gift shop? Isn’t that a little,” she searched for the right word. “Morbid?”

“Oh no,” the woman behind the desk said to them, her eyes brightening with the passion of her belief as she explained. “All of the proceeds go to the Youth Drunk Driving Visitation Program.”

At Kit’s blank look, Evan told her sister, “It’s a program that brings teenagers here and shows them what can happen if you drive drunk.”

“I get the concept, but,” Kit ended with a slight shudder.

“Would you like to go up to the gift store?” The woman asked, already pulling out some visitors’ passes for them.

“Actually, no. My name is Evan Callum, Sheriff Pierce asked me to come down?” Evan told her instead.

“Miss Callum?” a deep voice called from behind them before the woman could answer. Evan turned to look at the man behind them, taking in the official uniform the hung loosely on the man’s lean frame.

“Sheriff Pierce?” Kit questioned, stepping up to the man. “I’m Kit Callum Winchester, Evan’s sister.”

“Thank you both for coming,” the Sheriff said to them, his voice somber. “I appreciate you both for coming down to do this.”

“It’s the least we could do,” Evan said quietly, shoving her hands into her pockets.

“Follow me,” Pierce held his hand out to lead them down the grey lined corridor. He stopped them at one door and pushed it open to show them into the viewing room. “Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll have the-,” he paused for a moment. “I’ll let them know.”

Evan nodded as she stepped up to the curtained window. Kit stood beside her and took her sisters hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Taking a deep breath, looked at the Sheriff and nodded. Pierce walked over to the intercom and pressed the button, speaking softly into it.

As they waited for the coroner’s assistant to roll the gurney into the sterile room on the other side of the wall, Evan frowned slightly. She rubbed the inside of one wrist against the seam of her jeans to relieve the faint itch, but it wouldn’t go away. She rubbed harder as it grew more insistent. A moment later there came a soft knock from the other side of the glass.

Pierce hit the button and the grey curtains began to whirr and part. The fluorescent overhead lights seemed to make the white sheet draping the gurney overly bright. Kit’s stomach clenched as she looked at the shape of the body, or rather the torso, beneath the sheet and realized why they were unable to ID Carlo’s remains by fingerprints. There was nothing *to* fingerprint. From beside her she heard Evan’s small whimper as she too appraised the shape of the body.

“I’m ready,” Evan said gruffly. She turned her hands and started rubbing the inside of her wrist harder against the seam of her jeans.

Kit frowned and looked down at the way Evan was rubbing her wrist against the side of her leg harder, then glanced up at her. Her heart fell as she looked back at the gurney. Up to this point they’d never had to put down anyone that they had known.

As the coroner’s assistant drew back the sheet, Evan gasped and turned her head. Pressing her hand against her mouth she tried to force down the wave of bile that roiled in her stomach at the sight. Kit snapped her eyes shut and turned her back on the window, breathing hard as she herself tried not to lose the contents of her stomach.

“I know this is difficult,” Pierce said gently.

With reluctance, Evan turned back towards the window. Opening her eyes, she focused on the almost burning itch at her wrists to keep herself from retching as she took in Carlos’s appearance. The once tanned skin was mottled and bloated. Bruises stained the areas around his eyes, nose and mouth. Dried blood clung to his face and she could tell by the misshapen shape of his nose that it had been broken by a hard strike. His mouth was sunken, and she knew that his teeth had also been broken.

“Miss Callum?” Sheriff Pierce asked her gently.

Nodding slowly, Evan pressed a hand to her mouth as she tried to hold back a sob. “Yeah, that’s Carlos,” she told him roughly. The sheriff tapped the button and the curtain started to slide closed.

“Ladies, I need to ask you a few questions,” the man said gently, putting his hand to their backs and turning them away from the window. “Are you okay Miss Callum?” He asked her, frowning as he noticed the way Evan was itching her wrists.

Evan nodded, looking at her sister. “My wrists always itch when I’m upset.” Kit’s gaze remained neutral, but she nodded her head slowly.

As he led them away, the itch at Evan’s wrists began to subside. She followed the sheriff’s directions into a small office away from the central part of the morgue. “Sheriff, could I trouble you for a glass of water?” Kit asked, hoping that it might settle her still roiling stomach.

“Of course,” he said pleasantly and then left the room to go to the water cooler just outside the small office.

“Sis?” Kit whispered, glancing at the sheriffs back.

Shaking her head, Evan nodded to the security camera high up in the corner of the office. When the sheriff came back into the office and handed Kit the glass of water, she turned her attention to the man. “Sheriff, do you have any idea what happened to Carlos?”

“It’s an ongoing investigation, Ms. Callum, I’m afraid that I can’t divulge that kind of information,” Pierce told her gently, but with authority.

“Sheriff, please. He was a friend. Do you have *any* leads?” Kit asked, idly rolling the empty glass between her hands to smudge any prints she left on the surface. Never could be too careful to not end up in the system.

Looking at the stricken look on the women’s faces, the sheriff sighed. “We were called out to the boat on a welfare check. Carlos hadn’t been to work for a few days and calls to his cell phone went unanswered. We discovered the bo-,” he paused. “We found Mr. Ramirez’s remains in the galley of his boat. He had been deceased for at least a day.”

“Oh, god,” Evan murmured softly, tears stinging her eyes as she thought of what might have done that to Carlos. She turned her thoughts back to the Sheriff as he continued softly.

“The boat was riding low and was taking on some water. Divers found a hole on the side of the boat above the waterline and we believe that some catfish, drawn to the scent of blood, got in,” the sheriff told them.

“What will happen to him now?” Kit asked him.

“If no one claims him, or if we can’t find a will, he will be turned over to the state for burial,” Pierce replied.

“You mean a pauper’s funeral,” Evan clarified and took a deep breath when he nodded.

“Don’t worry Sheriff, we’ll take care of it,” Kit told him and then looked at her sister. “It’s the least we can do.”

“Ladies, I know that today has already been hard on you, but I need to ask you some questions,” the sheriff cleared his throat and then pulled out his notebook. “You said that you got together with Carlos last month, can I ask why?”

Clearing her throat and adjusting in her chair, Evan’s mind raced. “Like I told you on the phone, I had worked with his girlfriend when I lived in the area years ago. We brought Kit’s husband, Sam, and my fiancé, Dean, down to do the tourist thing, they’re from Kansas,” she added with a half-smile.

“We went out for dinner that night,” Kit added.

“Dean?” The sheriff looked at his notebook and frowned. “Dean Winchester?”

Evan frowned slightly, “Yeah. How did you know that?”

“We found his fingerprints on the railing of the boat,” Sheriff Pierce told them. “And we ran them through the system.”

“You and Dean went to pick up Carlos at the marina to bring him to the restaurant,” Kit looked at Evan knowingly and Evan nodded in understanding.

“Carlos didn’t drive, so we went to pick him up. Looks like Carlos’ is – was - a typical guy when it comes to cleaning,” Evan said in a half-heartedly joking tone.

“And that is the only time that Dean was on the boat?” The Sheriff questioned and at their nod, he crossed Dean’s name from his notebook.

“Sheriff, when would we be able to have the body prepared for burial?” Kit questioned, wanting to turn the man’s line of questioning away from their family.

“Once the coroner has completed the autopsy, we will be able to release it.”

“An autopsy?” Evan shifted in her chair and looked at the man.

“We are still unclear as to what the cause of death is. Right now, we are working on speculation,” he advised.

“Sis,” Kit said a moment later, “I’m not feeling so great.”

Looking at her sister, Evan realized that Kit was looking very pale and sweat had started to bead up on her forehead. She glanced at the Sheriff, “Is there anything else you need us for? I should get her home, or at least to a hotel so she can lie down.”

“Of course, ladies,” Pierce said to them, and rose from the desk and walked around it. He held out his hand and helped Kit to her feet. “Are you going to be okay?”

She nodded. “Morning sickness is **such** a misnomer,” she smiled weakly.

“Will you keep us updated?” Evan asked the man as she wound her arm around her sister’s shoulder and sent him a small smile when he nodded at her.

As they made their way out of the office, Kit whispered at her sister. “There’s something here isn’t there?”

“Catfish my ass,” Evan growled softly.

At her sister’s words, Kit glanced around the lobby of the morgue’s outer reception area. Once they cleared the building, she wiped the sweat from her brow and took a deep breath. The queasiness she had felt had been true enough, but she had exaggerated it so they could get away from the sheriff. “What did you feel back there?” Kit asked as she slid into the passenger side of the minivan.

“I’m not sure,” Evan said as she started up the car and put it in reverse.

“Was it Carlos’s spirit?”

“No, it was different. If it was his spirit, I would have felt the itch the moment I walked in. I can feel it with Nana as soon as I pull into the driveway,” she explained, glancing at her sister. “And with Putnam, I could feel it when he was close by. This was different. I didn’t start to feel the itch until *after* the body came into the room.”

“It seemed to be worse,” Kit added, looking at the raw scratch marks on her sister’s wrists.

“It was stronger. Like whatever it was, was concentrated on Carlos’s body.”

“We have to get into the morgue before they do the autopsy then. And that means we need to do some research on the building. I got the name of the security system. We’ll start from there.”

“And we need to find a way to check out the boat. Hopefully the water and the police haven’t destroyed too much evidence,” Evan added, thinking ahead.

Kit already had her cell phone out and was dialing John’s shop. “Hi John, it’s Kit. Yeah, we just finished. It was him,” she paused. “And Evan had a reaction to something. Her wrists are burning up,” she smiled at his reply. “We’re gonna need the boys’ help.”


	6. Five

The pain was growing unbearable.

Lindsey adjusted his jacket over his abdomen and curled his arm tighter over it. He could feel the blood seeping from the gaping wound across his stomach. It had finally stopped flowing from the wound in his neck, but he could feel the infection from the demon saliva spreading through him. His blood was thickening in his veins, and although he knew that it wouldn’t kill him, as it grew thicker his heart was going to have to work harder to push it through his veins. And he was going to _wish_ he was dead.

He was going to have to stop. The potholed back roads that he had been driving along for the past few hours were wreaking havoc on his leg. He looked down at the stain that bloomed along his jeans and frowned. There was a slightly greenish tinge to the stain. The infection was spreading faster than he expected, and the potion that he had hastily prepared from the few herbs that he had stashed in his truck was doing nothing to slow it down.

Slumping down in the front seat of the truck he closed his eyes. He needed to rest for a moment. Just for a moment. Just as he was sliding off into a light doze, the cell phone rang from beside him. With a groan, Lindsey cracked one pain dulled eye open and reached out for the small cell phone.

“Yeah,” he answered shortly. Only one person had this number.

“Sacramento,” the disembodied voice replied. “1322 Chester Street.”

“Thanks,” Lindsey said, the pain making his voice harsher than he meant it to be. “I owe you.”

“Yeah, you do,” the man replied. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Lindsey smiled ruefully. “Probably not.” He shifted on the seat of the truck and winced at the pain that flared through his body. “Thanks for the info.”

“Lindsey, there’s another Immortal, Drogue Roussel, hunting us. Devon got away from him. But he got Jeffrey. This man is looking for you. Watch your back.” The man said before disconnecting the call.

Tossing the cell phone onto the dash of the truck Lindsey sat back in the seat to think. An image flittered before his eyes and he found himself pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. Digging into a small compartment and fished out an old photograph. The edges were worn and ragged, the once brilliant color had faded over the years, but as his bright blue eyes traced over the familiar features, he could still see the waves of red hair and sparkling green eyes in all their glory. He hadn’t allowed himself to consciously think of her over the past few years, but now it was all he could think about.

Duncan was right. He was probably opening an old wound that was best left closed. But if he left her in the dark, then he knew he would be every vile thing that she had accused him of being. And that thought killed him more than any demon could.

Sighing roughly, Lindsey cranked over the engine of the old truck and pulled out of the parking lot and found the nearest back road that would take him towards California. He had a lot of ground to cover.

~*~

“This is the marina where Carlos keeps his boat,” Dean said hours later as he pulled the Impala into the parking lot and shut off the engine. He looked over the masts of the boats that were moored in the marina, remembering the first time he had come here with Evan.

When Sam had returned his father’s call just after the girls left for the airport, John filled him in on what had happened. Dean had stopped off at the house to grab his and Sam’s suits before heading off to meet Sam at the train station. Sam used his train commute to arrange copies of notes from friends for the classes he would miss later in the day.

Looking to the end of the pier where Carlo’s boat was moored, Sam peered through the growing darkness. There was yellow tape around the boat and a deputy posted on the pier to watch the boat. Seeing the policeman, Dean reached over and pulled the cigar box from the glovebox and flipped through the fake ID’s. Picking out one he tossed it at Sam.

Picking up the ID, Sam looked at it. “Agent Jake McGarry, FBI. I see we’re going with an oldie,” he commented.

“Tried and true,” Dean said, looking at his own and smiled. Special Agent Joe Malone. Pushing the door open, Dean climbed out and straightened his suit. Sam slid out of the car after him and they walked down to the end of the pier.

“Who are you?” The young deputy questioned as they approached.

Dean raised an eyebrow at him. “Special Agent Joe Malone of the FBI. Sheriff Pierce called us in to look at the victim’s boat.”

“He didn’t tell me anything,” the young deputy said as he looked at them skeptically.

“We got a red flag on the system. This crime fits a recent one that happened in Sacramento,” Sam added. “Your Sheriff has been tied up with the coroner.”

“I should give him a call and get clearance,” the man said, his voice wavering a little in uncertainty.

“Go ahead, call him. And each minute that we waste here is another minute that this man’s killer is getting further and further away,” Dean said coldly, staring the man down.

The deputy hesitated for a moment. He really wanted to confirm with the Sheriff, but it was the FBI, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to get on their bad side. “Go ahead,” the man said and lifted the yellow tape for them to walk under.

Dean waited until he and Sam were aboard the ship and making their way below deck before telling his little brother. “Dude, I am so smooth.”

“Yeah, yeah, pat yourself on the back later,” Sam said, flipping on the light. He looked around at the boat and pulled a face.

“Holy shit,” Dean murmured as he looked around. “What the hell happened here?”

The blood was, thankfully, contained to the small galley kitchen. But it was everywhere. It stained the walls, the countertops and the floor around them. A chair was overturned, the legs splintered.

“You guys okay?” The young deputy stood at the top of the stairs leading below deck and poked his head down.

“Deputy, how did this water get in here?” Sam asked looking around for the source of it.

“The boat was listing when we got here. There’s a hole in the hull. We plugged up the hole, so no more water would get in and wash away the evidence,” the man replied.

“Was any evidence removed from the scene?” Dean asked, crouching down to look at the hole that had been blocked up.

“Not yet. The forensics team has been here to do a preliminary, but nothing’s been removed except the body.”

“Dean,” Sam whispered, crouching down beside his brother and looking at the hole. “Look at the way the wood is broken,” he said, pointing to the striations on the wood. “It’s been broken from the inside out.”

“So, either someone wanted to sink the boat to hide the evidence, or something broke out of here,” Dean said. Rising he said up to the deputy, “So what does Sheriff Pierce think happened here?”

“He’s keeping pretty quiet about it. All I know is that the way they found the guy, is definitely not how I’d want to go. You said this matched a case in Sacramento? What do you guys think?”

“The vic got himself involved in something he wasn’t ready for and got the shit beat out of him,” Sam said. He frowned and walked over to the chair and leaned down to brush his finger over one of the legs. He lifted his hand and sniffed it, his head rearing back at the familiar scent. As he was rising, he looked at the arm and found scratches in the wood.

Dean moved around the kitchen, trying not to picture what he thought happened here. Carlos hadn’t deserved this. As he walked around, he felt something crunch under his foot. Moving it, he looked down at the small metallic looking item. At first glance it might have looked like a small metal plate, but when he picked it up, he found that it was more of a scale. He flaked part of it off and in the dim light of the kitchen he found that it was an organic material that he had never seen before.

“What’s that?” Sam asked him, looking over his shoulder at what his brother held.

“I don’t know. We need to get out of here though,” Dean said, and they turned towards the door.

As the two men walked up the stairs, the deputy backed away from them. As much as he hated to admit it, the way the two towered over him made him nervous. “Did you find anything helpful?”

“No,” Sam told him. “We’ll check in with Sheriff Pierce and see what the forensics unit found.”

“Keep a good watch on this place,” Dean added as he climbed off the boat and walked up the pier, Sam close behind him. They waited until they were in the car out of earshot of the Deputy.

“I found traces of sulphur on the leg of the chair.” Sam showed Dean his fingers with the fine film of yellow sulphuric residue on his skin. “And there were scratches on the arms of the chair. I think Carlos was restrained.”

“Some kind of demon was there,” Dean shook his head at the sight of the sulphur. “I have no idea what this is.” Holding up the scale he found, he flipped it over in the bright light. “It looks like metal. But it doesn’t feel like it.” He gave the scale to Sam.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Sam said as he examined the scale. “Maybe we can find something in Dad’s journal.”

“We’ll look when we get to the coffee shop,” Dean told him as he started the car. “The girls should be there soon.”

“How are they going to get back in the morgue?” Sam questioned with a shake of his head as Dean backed the car out.

“Who the hell knows,” Dean replied with a grin.


	7. Six

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Evan asked as she and Kit parked the mini-van around the corner from the morgue and walked up to the back of the morgue.

“Trust me, I’ll get us in there,” Kit told her sister as she walked up to the back of the van that was sitting in the loading dock. The side of the white van had the name of a local cleaning company blazed across the side in big red letters. She pulled the small lock picking kit out of her pocket and focused on the task of picking the back lock of the van. “We’re in.” She announced a moment later and pulled open the doors. Reaching inside she pulled out a pair of grey overalls.

“You would have been a great bank robber,” Evan said as she pushed her feet into the legs of the overalls. Grabbing a baseball hat from the floor of the van she tucked her hair up under it and adjusted it on her head.

Having left the morgue that afternoon, Kit found a café that had wi-fi access and had spent the next few hours hacking into the morgue’s records, trying to find the best way to get them in. They had found that the morgue itself never closed, which was going to prove to be a little bit riskier for them. With a little more digging, and a schematic of the morgue, Evan had come up with an idea.

“Robbing banks is too risky. You can never spend the money that you steal, and you’re hunted for the rest of your life. Look at what happened to DB Cooper,” Kit whispered as she pulled on the overalls and tied her hair back in a ponytail.

“Yeah, but think of the fun it would be,” Evan answered helping her sister down.

“You’re seriously twisted,” Kit said to her sister. “Okay Brain, what are we going to do?”

She then took out one of the spare cleaning crew carts and set it on the ground. Evan loaded it with the various items that a cleaning crew might need and then shut the van doors. “We walk right in Pinky,” she said.

“ _This_ is your plan?” Kit hissed, grabbing at her sister’s arm in alarm.

Keeping their heads down, they moved around the side of the van, pushing the cart in front of them. As soon as they entered the building, Kit noticed that Evan’s wrists began to itch. Nodding politely to the few people that acknowledged their presence, Kit and Evan made their way down to the basement of the morgue.

“Do they have the authority to do this?” Came a sharp voice as the doors burst open, and the attending doctor strode through angrily, followed closely by Sheriff Pierce. Seeing the man they had met earlier, Kit grabbed a mop and put on a show about mopping the floor, her stomach growing queasy with the fear of being found out. A moment of panic filled Evan as she saw the man. With a sharp move, she grabbed a rag and began polishing the railing, making sure to keep her head turned as far away from him as possible to not be recognized.

“They didn’t do it, the judge did it,” Sheriff Pierce replied as they made their way up the stairs.

Once he was gone, Kit stuck the mop back in the cart and they pushed through the doors and looked at her sister. “That was way too close.”

“I’ll say,” Evan agreed. She then pushed the cart through the doors and down the hall, watching the signs on the doors for the one she was looking for. “Here it is,” she hissed at Kit as soon as she located it.

“Damn, it’s cold in here,” Kit said, rubbing her hands over her arms at the cold air in storage room of the morgue. “Carlos’s body should be in here somewhere. Let’s hurry up. I really don’t want to have to explain why we’re breaking *into* a morgue.

“You said there were no security monitors in here. And I don’t think they’re going to have guards doing rounds on a bunch of dead guys,” Evan said as she went over to the first locker and opened it up. “Let’s just find him and get out of here.” Flipping up the sheet over the corpse’s foot and read the tag on the toe. She shook her head and shut the locker door.

Kit moved across the room to the desk and found the log book. She flipped it open and looked through the listing. “Locker 32,” she told her sister and then looked at the numbers on the doors. “There he is,” she said, pointing to the locker in the center.

Evan went over to the bank of lockers and pulled open the one Kit indicated. Her wrists became itchier than normal, but she pushed aside the irritation. She took a steadying breath before pulling the slab out of the locker. The image from earlier that afternoon still stuck in her mind and even now made her stomach queasy. Grasping the slab, she pulled it out quickly before she could change her mind.

“Oh god,” Kit whimpered from the other side of the body, her hand pressed against her mouth to keep the nausea roiling in her stomach from coming up.

Evan forced away her own sickness and looked at the body of her friend. “I’m sorry, Carlos,” she whispered as she started to examine the body. “They haven’t done the autopsy yet,” she told her sister. “There’s no incision.”

“Than that means we may still be able to get some idea of what happened,” Kit murmured. She turned her head and took a deep breath before turning back to look at what was left of the body.

“Here, put these on,” Evan said a moment later and gave her sister a pair of plastic gloves before snapping on a pair herself. “No arms and legs. So, whatever it was that got him would had to have been pretty big.” She carefully lifted what was left of Carlos’s bicep, and examined it. “Kit, look at this.”

Coming around the body, Kit looked at where her sister was pointing. “The bone looks like it’s been sheared. If it was chewed, it would be jagged.”

“So, something with very sharp teeth?” Kit asked her sister, closing her eyes.

“And again, I say: Catfish my ass,” Evan replied.

“It doesn’t look like he was submerged at all,” Kit continued, poking one finger at the skin and watching how it dimpled under her touch. “If he’d been in the water, even if only for a few hours, he should be bloated and all.... spongy. He’s dried up.”

“Have they removed any of his fluids?” Evan asked, pressing her fingers to the skin and noting herself the way it tented under the touch.

“I doubt it, but let me take a look at the records,” Kit turned away from the body and went back to the desk to flip through the files on it until she found Carlos’s. “Nothing’s been done to the body. Order by the court,” Kit stopped and looked up at her sister. “Sis, Wolfram and Hart got a court order preventing them from performing an autopsy. They presented a will showing that Carlos was against it and are ordering a green burial as soon as possible. They’re delivering the body to the Sadanamore Funeral Home tomorrow morning.”

“Sadanamore,” Evan whispered to herself, the name sounding familiar. “Oh god. I remember. Sadanamore is owned by Wolfram and Hart.”

“They don’t want anyone to know what happened to him,” Kit said and set the file down.

“Why? He’s dead. He can’t say anything. The sheriff has his theory already. Why would they want to take his body to someplace they own?” Evan frowned and braced her hands on the edge of the slab, trying to think.

“I don’t know,” Kit started and then stopped as she got closer to the body. “Sis, did you see that?”

Looking up at Kit, Evan followed her gaze down to the body. As she watched, the taut skin over the corpse’s stomach fluttered slightly. Stepping back from the slab, Evan looked at her sister. “Um. I know I didn’t pay attention in biology class, but, uh, dead bodies aren’t supposed to do that. Are they?”

“Gasses can build up,” Kit began but then stopped when the skin once again bulged outward. “But not like that.”

“I don’t like the look of this,” Evan started, jumping back as the skin bowed out again and then tore open. “Son of a bitch!” She squealed in surprise.

“Holy shit!” Kit cried as a small dark shape clawed its way out of Carlos’s chest. At the sound of her voice, the shape swung its head towards Kit. As she watched, a small round head seemed to unfold from under its body and two spindly antennae unfolded from the side of its head. “Okay,” Kit murmured, backing away from the slab. Two wide black eyes opened through the bloody viscous liquid that coated the metallic looking creature. “What the hell is that?”

“Uh,” Evan began, her eyes widening as the small creature crawled over Carlos’s body, it’s antennas waving in the air, seeming to seek out Kit’s warmth. “I don’t know, but it’s a demon.” She whispered, her wrists itching almost painfully. “Don’t move,” she added, stepping back as it swung its head towards her.

“Sis, do you think that’s what,” she paused, “ate Carlos?”

“It’s a little small. He should have been able to, you know,” she gestured with her hand, “Stomp it?” Evan answered, looking at the small insect-like creature. As she watched, it doubled in size.

“Then again, maybe not,” Kit replied, watching as the creature doubled again.

“Oh, that is so not cool,” Evan stammered taking a step back from the slab. As she moved the insect reared back and swung towards her.

“Hey, bug face,” Kit stomped her foot on the floor and clapped her hands towards the demon. She shuddered as it swung its head towards her, its blank, black eyes pinned on her. She took a step back and the demon crawled off the table and dropped to the cold floor. Her eyes widened as a multitude of legs unfolded from under its body and it skittered quickly across the floor towards her. “Evan,” she began and then let out a strangled scream as the demon leaped from the floor at her. She was barely able put her hands in front of her to catch it before its heavy body struck her and knocked her to the ground.

“Kit!” Evan cried as she rounded the slab and approached her sister. She fell to her knees and grabbed at the demon that was reaching for Kit’s face with its antenna. Wrapping her fingers around the edge of the insect’s body and tried pulling it off her sister. She gasped as sharp spines ejected from its shell and dug into her fingers. “Bloody hell!”

Kit looked up at the small demon and gasped as its head craned down towards her, it’s jaw opening and a set of small, razor like teeth descended. “Evan!” She whimpered as the jaw snapped shut and then opened again, a thick viscous fluid gathering around the teeth.

Grasping the knife from the sheath in her boot, Evan looked at the demon, trying to find a weakness in its metallic looking skin. Pinching the small head between her fingers she pulled the head back and slid the blade along what appeared to be its neck, cleanly slicing the small head from the body. She winced as she heard an ungodly squeal from the demon. It lasted a moment before it stopped, and the body stilled. Evan threw the head to the side in disgust and wiped the demons blood from her fingers. “Gross!”

Throwing the body off her, Kit rolled away and got to her feet. “That was… nasty.” She shuddered as she looked at the still body. Going over to it, she nudged it with her foot.

“Don’t go near it,” Evan hissed at her, keeping her distance from the grotesque thing.

Kit stood up and started looking around for something to put the demon body in. “We gotta get this thing out of here.”

“We gotta get _our asses_ out of here,” Evan corrected. Looking at her watch, she found that it was nearly midnight. Even though they wouldn’t be doing rounds in the morgue, they’d already been there too long. Snapping one of the gloves off, she put it around the small head and picked it up.

“Sis, we gotta find out what this thing is. And we can’t leave it here for the coroner to find.”

“Fine, it comes with us. Put the head in something separate though. I'd really hate to find out this thing can regenerate right in the middle of traffic on the Five,” Evan groused as she handed Kit the head.

Finding two property bags in the desk drawer, Kit slid the body into one, careful to avoid getting any of the viscous liquid oozing out of the severed neck on her hands before dropping the head into another. Sealing them both tightly she went to where her sister was looking at Carlo’s locker with a sad look on her face.

Walking back over to the slab, she flipped the sheet back over Carlos’s lower body then paused as she looked at his battered face. A sudden stab of anger filled her and she knew she couldn’t leave until she did one more thing. “Sis, bring the cart over here.” She said suddenly as she pulled the slab out more and began tucking the sheet around Carlos’s body.

“What are you doing?” Kit hissed, watching her sister.

“We’re not leaving him like this,” she said sharply. “Wolfram and Hart already killed him, we’re not going to let them desecrate him anymore.”

“Sis, we can’t take a dead body out of here,” Kit answered, wanting her sister to see reason. But seeing the expression on her face, she brought the cart over.

“We don’t have to. Through the autopsy room there’s a medical incinerator where they dispose of biomed hazards and used instruments. We can use that to burn him,” Evan explained easily as she grasped Carlos’s torso and began to slide it off the table.

Kit grabbed the lower half of his torso, trying to ignore her heaving stomach as she did, and helped Evan maneuver the body into the garbage container on the cart. “Sorry, Carlos,” Kit found herself saying as they manhandled his body and helped Evan guide the cart out of the cold room.

“We don’t have any salt,” Kit whispered as they pushed the cart down the hall until they found the incinerator room.

“What about the saline solution in the autopsy theatre?” Evan asked her.

“Not a high enough content. And if we use too much, it will wet the body too much for it to burn,” Kit answered absentmindedly. “I’ve got it,” she said suddenly and then headed towards the door. “Stay here.”

“Where are you going?” Evan hissed at her, but Kit had slipped out of the door and was heading up the stairs, careful to keep her head down and not draw attention to herself. She didn’t have to worry much as the employees passed her by as she moved through the halls, trying to remember where exactly the lunch room was. When she finally found it, she peeked in through the window of the swinging doors and found no one inside.

Pushing open the doors, she quickly went through the cupboards, growing frustrated when she couldn’t find what she was looking for. Opening the last cupboard, she found a half empty box of salt and grabbed it. There wasn’t a lot in it, but it would have to do she figured and made her way back to where Evan was pacing the floor of the incinerator room.

“Where the hell were you?” She snapped, her nerves growing taut with the fear that the longer they stayed there, the worse their chances of not getting caught were.

“We needed salt,” Kit replied logically. Setting the box of salt down onto the cart, she helped her sister lift Carlos’s body and lay it out on the slab to the incinerator. As she grabbed the box of salt, Evan opened the large plastic garbage bag and moved the sheet from his body so Kit could dump the contents over him. When they were done, Kit opened the heavy door to the incinerator and Evan pushed the slab into it.

Closing the door, Evan hit the button and the powerful machine sparked to life. White and blue flame instantly searing everything it touched. It didn’t take long for the misshapen form to bubble and break down to ash. Evan closed her eyes against the sight and found herself saying a small prayer for the soul of the man who hadn’t deserved this. “Vaya con Dios, my friend,” she whispered. She then pushed aside the sadness and looked at her sister. “You got Fugly there secured?” When Kit nodded and patted the two bags hidden beneath a stack of cleaning cloths, she turned towards the door and said quietly. “Let’s get out of here.”

Just as quietly as they came in, Evan and Kit made their way back to the loading bay doors and ditched the cart and the overalls. Quickly making their way back to the minivan where Kit set the demon’s body in one of their duffel bags. Taking the bag with the head, Evan slipped it into the other one and then put one bag in the back of the van and one on the back seat just as a precaution. Sliding into the van, Kit drove to the coffee shop where they had set to meet Dean and Sam while Evan bandaged up the slices on her hands from the demon’s shell.

~*~

“What the hell happened?” Dean questioned when they arrived at the coffee shop and settled into the booth beside them. He took hold of Evan’s hands and examined her fingers. Kit flagged down a waitress to order them a coffee, and once she was out of earshot she told them what had happened.

“He was a spiny little bugger,” Evan groused, wincing slightly as he ran his callused fingers over hers.

“Did it have scales on it? Ones that looked like this?” Dean asked them as he showed them what was left of the scale he had recovered from Carlos’s boat.

“Sort of, but maybe a third that big,” Kit said, remembering the way the scales had reticulated as it had reached its head towards her. “But it did grow as we watched it. So it could have gotten that big.”

“What was it?” Sam questioned.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen it before,” Kit said. “We’ve got it in the trunk. I’m going to look through Nana’s books when we get home and see if I can figure out what it was.”

“You brought it with you?” Dean frowned at her.

“We’re pretty sure it’s dead,” Evan added. “We separated it so it shouldn’t be able to pull itself together, if it can do that,” she lowered her voice as the waitress came back to their table.

“I’m sorry about Carlos,” Sam said as Evan fell quiet, her fingers wrapped around her coffee cup.

“It’s my fault he’s dead,” Evan said into the quiet. “I should never have involved him in what we did.”

“Evan, babe, it’s not your fault,” Dean said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and lowering his head to her.

“It feels like it. We saw Carlos last month, and this month he’s dead? Eaten by a demon?” She said, to them. “We know Wolfram and Hart is involved. They wanted that necklace, we destroyed it. And they were going to take over Carlos’s body.”

“They were going to what?” Sam asked, and Kit explained about the injunction.

“Do you think they knew that Carlos had that thing inside of him and they were hoping to harvest it?” Kit asked, paling at the gruesome thought.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Evan replied.

“So, what do we do now?” Dean questioned, trying to wrap his head around everything.

“We go home,” Kit said quietly, the feeling of distaste growing within her.

“What about Wolfram and Hart?” Dean felt his anger rise. He hadn’t known Carlos well, but no one should die the way that he had. And his death couldn’t be just another mark on the scoreboard in the ongoing fight against good and evil.

“We do nothing,” Evan said sadly shaking her head. Her stomach roiled at the waste of life, and the impotence at not being able to fight back against it. She pushed her coffee away, suddenly disgusted.

“What do you mean we do nothing? If Carlos is dead because of them, we have to do something,” Dean argued, looking around the table at them.

“Dean, we can’t take down a whole law firm, especially if they’re as powerful as Evan says,” Sam told his brother.

“Babe, if we tried, we’d be joining Carlos,” Evan told him. “Can we just go home? Please?”

Looking at the despondent look on her face, Dean sighed and dug out his wallet, throwing a few bills down onto the table to pay for their coffees. The four then walked out of the coffee shop and climbed into the vehicles. Dean pulled out of the parking lot and followed Kit to the car rental building where they dropped off the van. Once the girls had climbed into the back of the Impala Dean pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the first interstate back to Sacramento. Evan never once looking back. She had suddenly been reminded as to why she hated LA.


	8. Seven

“Are you going to be okay?” Dean asked Evan the next morning as they went out to the Impala. He traced dark green eyes over her pale face and frowned in concern.

Having gotten back to the house in the wee hours of the morning, Sam and Dean had grabbed a few hours’ sleep, thankful that Sam didn’t have class until mid-day. John had told Dean to come in later that morning, knowing how late they had gotten in. Even as he lay in bed, he had heard Evan in the shower, crying over the loss of her friend. When she had finally come to bed, he had held her close, but knew that she hadn’t slept much more than he had. The impotent anger he felt at not being able to go after the bastards that had killed Carlos gnawing at him.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m just tired,” she smiled weakly at him.

“Angie and Kevin still have the boys and said that they’d keep them for the day. You get some sleep,” he ordered her gently. He cupped her neck and used his thumbs to push her chin up higher, making her look into his eyes.

“I will,” she said softly, for once not arguing with him. A gentle warmth spread through her when he bent his head down to touch her lips with his.

“You ready to go?” Sam asked his brother as he came out of the house, Kit trailing behind him.

Dean nodded and turned open the heavy door of the car and slid in. “See you tonight,” he told Evan and then started the car. Pulling out of the driveway, Dean made his way up the street.

Kit waved to Mrs. Alton while Evan couldn’t be bothered. She went into the house and into the study. She stared down at the two little bags that contained the dead demon. Tears stung her eyes and the anger that had been building within her grew to the boiling point. She picked up the bag with the demon head and threw it against the wall. Kit stepped into the study just as the bag hit the book shelf and dropped to the floor. Looking at her sister, she came around the desk and put her arm around her shoulder.

“Sis, I’ll search the books,” she told her. “Well find out what did this and then hunt it down and kill it.”

“I’m sorry,” Evan replied, looking at Kit with a sad look on her face. Kit simply squeezed her shoulders.

“Go downstairs and work out some of that frustration,” she told her, nudging her around the desk and towards the door.

Evan nodded and went up to her bedroom to change into a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. She scraped her hair into a ponytail as she went down to the basement. Once there, she picked up her MP3 player from the workbench and put it on. Turning it on, she took her sword from the wall and went to the middle of the floor. As the music started, she let her mind wander, her body moving to the music, her sword slashing at invisible enemies.

 

~*~

Dean dropped Sam off at the train station with a warning not to be late before he headed off to the shop to meet his Dad. As they shared a cup of coffee in the back room, Dean told him about what had happened the night before.

“Are the girls okay?” John asked, concerned by Kit’s pregnancy and Evan’s despondence at the death of her friend.

“Yeah, they are. A little tired, but alright. There’s got to be something we can do,” Dean said, his anger flaring again.

“Son, we’ve seen how powerful these people can be. Evan’s right on this one. We can’t take them down. We can however find out what killed Carlos and kill _that_ ,” John assured him.

“They’re going to look through the books to see what they can find out about this demon,” Dean told him.

“We’ve got some other contacts. I’ll call them and see if they’ve seen anything else like it,” John replied, already picking up the phone.

Dean sighed as the bell dinged over the door to the shop. He pushed himself to his feet and made his way to the front of the shop to greet the person that was standing at the doorway. He paused and looked at his Dad. “Hopefully things will be quiet for the next few days for everyone to work through this.”

John looked at his son’s retreating back, wondering if there had ever been a time when things were quiet in their family.


	9. Eight

The battered old truck stopped down the street from the address he had scrawled on a small piece of paper. Lindsey looked up at the house and smiled slightly. The buttercup yellow house with the small newly planted rose bushes lining the walkway was not what he expected from her. He shifted back in his seat when the front door of the house opened. The cab of the truck cast a shadow on his stubble darkened face as he watched the two that stepped out and made their way down the front steps to the big black car parked in the driveway.

His attention was drawn to the slender woman now leaning against the side of the car and knew it was her. The red hair was a little shorter now than it had been then, but it still burned fire when it was caught by the sun. He frowned slightly when he saw the white fringe of hair at her bangs. That was new. His eyes trailed down her slender body and noticed that she had a few more curves, but she still filled out a pair of jeans that made any red-blooded man take notice. At this distance, he couldn’t hear what she was saying, but he wondered if it was still as husky as it had once been. The thought of her voice made him take a deep breath and shift on his seat. 

A shard of pain stabbed at him when the man at her side leaned down and kissed her softly. Looking at him now, Lindsey sighed. What he’d seen years ago had come true. Despite everything that had happened, he’d held onto a small shard of hope that it wouldn’t.

Focusing his attention to the two new people walking out of the house, he looked at the taller of the two women. Studying her features, he saw the similarities and guessed that this had to be the sister that he had heard so much about. He smiled when he noticed the way she wound her fingers through the taller man’s fingers and the protective way he laid his hand on the slight swelling on her abdomen.

When the two men got into the car and backed out of the driveway, Lindsey turned his head as it passed by his truck. The two women went back into the house and he sat there for a few minutes before pushing open the door of the truck and climbing out slowly. His ankle had swollen painfully in his boot as he had driven. Pulling his jacket around his body to hide the newly blooming blood on his shirt, he made his way across the street and up the driveway to the house.

He walked around the side of the house and went to the back door. Listening carefully at the door, he heard footsteps coming into the kitchen and a door open. He followed their sound down the stairs and then looked to the small casement window at his feet. Glancing in the window, he saw the flash of red and white hair pass by the window. Stepping lightly up the back steps, he tried the door handle and found it locked. He dug into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out the small leather locking picking kit and worked quickly to open the door.

Stepping into the kitchen he paused for a moment and listened to the sounds around him. Out of the kitchen and down the hall he could hear the frustrated sighs of Kit as she studied the books, the creaks of the house and the sound of Evan’s sword slicing through the air below him. Finding the door to the basement, Lindsey opened it and walked slowly down the stairs, pausing at the bottom and watched the slender figure moving around the basement, lost in the invisible demons she was fighting. He remembered the times that they had clashed swords, and what had happened afterwards. 

He quickly shook that thought from his mind. That was a time long gone now.

Dust-motes danced in the beams of sunlight streaming in through the casement windows of the basement. Flares of light streaked across the room as Evan slashed the sword in a wide circle around her head and then brought it down in an arc. With her eyes closed as she focused on the music streaming through her headphones, drowning out the anger that had been building within her. She had told Dean that she was okay, but she wasn’t. There was nothing that she could do now about what happened to Carlos, nothing she could do against the law firm that wouldn’t end with her dying. She knew this yet there was an anger burning inside of her for the senseless loss of a man’s life.

As she worked out, she missed the long lean figure that made its way slowly down the basement stairs. Battered cowboy boots thumped on the wood stairs. Faded, well-worn blue jeans hugged long muscular legs. A light buckskin leather jacket was draped over his wide shoulders and wrapped tightly around his mid-section. He leaned against the railing and propped his chin up on one hand, the silver bracelets at his wrist jingling.

When the music ended, Evan held the sword up and laid her forehead against the flat of the blade, her breathing deep and steady as she tugged the buds from her ears. It had been a long time since she'd had the house to herself enough to be able to really work out and her muscles were letting her know it.

"Your riposte could use some work," came the soft drawl from the stairway. 

Evan squeaked in surprise and jumped at the voice. Turning, she held the sword in a defensive pose and stared at the person on the stairs, her eyes wide in shock. "Holy sh-," she began and then frowned. "Lindsey?"

"Hey darlin'," he replied as he gave Evan a small smile.

“How did you get in here?” Evan tightened her grip on the hilt of the sword and tensed her muscles in readiness. He couldn’t be here. And if he was, there was no way should have been able to get into the house. It was warded up tight, and Nana should have warned them. "They told me you were dead."

He made a face at her. "I was. To them." A smile grew on his face as he looked her over. She'd changed a little since the last time he’d seen her. But her voice was still the same. And her eyes were still the same smoky green that could wind around you and hold you deep in their gaze. "You look good." He walked down the rest of the steps and stopped in front of her. "I heard you were trying to find me. What's wrong?"

Evan looked at him, puzzled. "How'd..." But words failed her. She was still in shock from seeing him in front of her.

Lindsey chuckled softly, and it sent a familiar shiver down her spine. "I'm supposed to be dead. You think a little thing like a deadbolt would stop me?"

“But,” she stammered, still unable to look away from him. He’d changed since the last time she saw him. Gone was the stylishly short cropped hair that she had remembered. His hair had grown out so that it peaked at the front and soft wings curved back away from his face. When he turned his head a little she saw the small silver hoop earrings in his ears and was struck by the sight of them. “That’s where my earrings went,” she said numbly, and Lindsey smirked at her.

“How ya been darlin’?” Lindsey questioned softly as he watched her. The confusion and shock ran across her face, darkened her eyes and he could tell that she was struggling for an answer.

“I’m,” she began, then paused, pursing her lips as she thought. 

Watching the fullness of her bottom lip was Lindsey’s undoing. His hand shot out suddenly and he curled his fingers around the wrist that held the sword and tugged her arm to the side. Stepping closer to her, he tugged on her arm again and drew her against him. His other hand moved up to cup her cheek, tipping her face up to him. He leaned his head down and pressed his lips to hers. When she didn’t immediately pull away, Lindsey slid his hand further around the back of her neck and gently pulled her up onto her toes.

Evan felt a familiar heat grow within her at the touch of his lips. It was different from the kisses she shared with Dean. It didn’t have the edginess of passion to them that his did. It was warmer, tender, friendly. But as it continued, the heat began to grow, and her head began to swim from it. She could feel her muscles begin to tighten and his mouth move over hers.

“Sis, I’m sorry I just can’t seem to,” Kit began as she stepped down the stairs into the cellar. She stopped when she saw the pair. “Um.. Am I interrupting something here?”

Evan stepped away from Lindsey and turned wide eyes on her sister. A sudden flood of shame filled her for what she had allowed to happen. She opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it mutely, not knowing what to say.

“You must be Kit, the little sister,” Lindsey said, his voice drawling slowly as he turned to look at Kit. He took a step towards her, holding his hand out to her to take it gallantly, but the action fell short. As he took a step, his ankle, finally having enough, gave out from under him. A pain flared up his leg so quickly, and so intensely that his head swam from it. His chest tightened, and he knew that he’d run out of time. Blackness clouded before his eyes and he felt himself sink into it.

As Lindsey stopped and crumpled down to the floor of the basement before them, Evan gave a startled cry and reached out to grab his shoulders. His body was a dead weight and dragged her down to her knees with him. She looked down into his face and for the first time noticed the paleness beneath his normally healthy skin. His eyes sunk back in his skull and she could see the shadows staining the skin under them.


	10. Nine

“Sis? Who’s the dead guy?” Kit asked as she came down the stairs and knelt beside his body. Opening his jacket, she gasped as she saw the bloom of blood on his shirt and the tinge of green puss staining his jeans. “Oh my god.” Looking down at the blood on his shirt, Evan followed her sisters gaze and a grimace crossed her face.

“He’s not dead.” Thinking quickly, she then looked at her sister. “I don’t want him near our weapons though. Not until I know what the hell is going on. Help me get him upstairs. Take his feet.” She said as she stood up and moved to grab his shoulders. “Come on, help me,” she groaned as she hefted his shoulders.

Kit moved to his feet and took hold of them. “Sis? Who is he?” Lifting his feet, she held tightly to them and guided Evan as she moved backwards up the stairs.

“Lindsey,” Evan grunted as she took a step up the stairs backwards, adjusting her hold under his arms.

“Lindsey? You mean _the_ Lindsey? As in the one who’s supposed to be dead Lindsey?” Kit cast a wary eye on the unconscious man they were juggling up the stairs. “What is he doing here Evan?”

“I don’t know yet,” Evan replied in confusion as she cleared the top step and entered the kitchen and then began backing towards the door into the hallway. “All of a sudden he was just there in the basement.”

“And you were just so overwhelmed to see him that you lost all control and started kissing a possible ghost?” Kit asked her, her tone bordering on a smirk.

“He’s the one who kissed me, not the other way around little sister,” Evan retorted. “And since we can touch him, I’m pretty sure he’s not a ghost.”

Kit made a disbelieving, but agreeing, noise and then stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Sis, I can’t carry him up another flight of stairs.”

Looking around quickly, Evan then turned to go into the living room. “Let’s put him on the couch,” she grunted as she lifted Lindsey’s inert body up and onto the couch. Kit swung his feet over the cushions and then grunted as they slipped from her fingers, dropping him down onto the couch. Lindsey groaned sharply in pain and a wince twisted his face, but he remained unconscious.

“Kit, get the salt from the shed,” Evan said as she grabbed hold of the end of the couch and began tugging it away from the wall.

“Sis, he’s already in, what good is the salt,” Kit began, but when Evan looked at her, she knew better than to argue. “Okay, I’m going.”

As Kit went out to the shed, Evan struggled to pull the couch away from the wall. By the time Kit came back, she had it out far enough that she could pour a line of salt around the couch. She had no idea how he’d gotten past their wards and into the house, but if it was a demon wearing Lindsey’s appearance, it wasn’t going to get past the salt. And if they had to, they’d be able to dust him easily enough. She hoped.

“We really should look at those wounds,” Kit told her sister. “He’s not going to be able to tell us much if they kill him before we can.”

Evan looked up at Kit from where she’d been standing outside the circle, biting her thumbnail in agitation. “I guess you’re right.”

Leaving the living room, Evan took the stairs two at a time to the bathroom off her bedroom and began rooting through the cupboards. When she’d rounded up some basic medical supplies she went back down to the living room and found that Kit had gotten the bag of supplies they always kept in the trunk.

“It looks like he was in some kind of knife fight, but I’ve never seen a blade do this to a person,” Kit said as she unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it away from his skin. She gagged sharply at the smell of the infection that had started to set into the wound and looked up at her sister. Pressing her fingers over her mouth, she pushed herself quickly to her feet and ran out of the living room and into the bathroom.

Trying not to smile at her sister’s discomfort, Evan knelt beside Lindsey’s form and looked at his wounds. As she probed the slice along his abdomen, the scarred tissue on his chest caught her eye. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn that they were gunshots. A frown crossed her face. She didn’t remember him having any gunshot wounds before. But then, it had been a long time since she had seen him. And with where he had worked anything was possible.

Which brought to mind again how a supposedly dead man was laying on her couch.

Reaching into the bag, Evan pulled out the vial of Holy water and quickly unscrewed it. She tipped the vial over his chest and let the water splash down onto his skin. She held her breath with trepidation as she waited for his skin to either start smoking or bubbling, but neither happened. It just pooled on his chest and then ran off. But when it ran down over his wound, it did cause the infection to smolder and sizzle.

“Well that’s never a good sign,” Kit said as she walked back into the room on wobbly legs. Her stomach still roiled gently, but there was nothing left in her. She would be so glad when this pregnancy was over, she thought to herself as she pulled up a chair and sat down on the edge outside the circle.

“Whatever did this to him wasn’t human,” Evan said as she carefully poured more Holy water over the wounds and watched them sizzle, the holy water burning away the demon infection within him. Once the wounds stopped sizzling, she cleared away the blood and puss from him chest and taped them as best she could. Once she was done, Evan continued to kneel at his side, watching him with a wary, yet surprised stare.

While Evan worked on his abdomen, Kit pulled his boot off carefully inspected his swollen ankle. Determining that it wasn’t broken, just very badly sprained, she wound it in tensor bandages and then laid ice packs over it to bring the swelling down.

“Sis?” Kit looked at Evan and frowned. Reaching out, she touched her sister’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Evan said softly. She then shook her head and looked back down at Lindsey before backing away from the couch. She found that her legs were a little unsteady and reached for the chair before sitting herself on the edge. “I think I’m in shock. They said he was dead. But here he is.” She took a breath. “And I never expected to see him again, you know?”

“When was the last time you saw him?” Kit asked her softly.

“When I left LA,” shaking her head again, Evan looked at her sister and then down at herself. “Watch him, I’m going to go get changed.” Pushing herself up off the chair she made her way to the doorway. Pausing, she looked at Lindsey once more before taking the steps slowly to the second floor to her bedroom.

Once there, she closed the bedroom door behind her, leaned against it and took a deep shaky breath. She didn’t want to admit it, and certainly didn’t understand it, but seeing Lindsey had rattled her well beyond the shock of seeing him. He was a part of her past that she had thought was left behind.

Her eyes drifted towards the large armoire and she stepped away from the door. Walking over to her vanity, she stopped and slid open one of the small drawers. Flicking through the assortment of earrings, she picked out a small silver key and then went over to the armoire. Pulling open one of the double doors, she cleared the clothes from the top shelf and then reached up to tug on one of the sweater hooks. With an almost inaudible click a false panel dropped forward.

Hidden behind it was a series of shelves that she had built into it. Each shelf contained items that had held meaning for her. She brushed her finger over the pinky ring that she had retrieved from the ashes of the man who had been turned into a Vampire in Tennessee and felt a stab of sadness. The leather-bound journal she had brought back from Louisiana sat on the next shelf, and it brought her tears to her eyes. Next to it sat a golden cross and a St. Christopher medallion. The cross had belonged to Carlos. The medallion had been a gift from Amber. All were items she had collected from those that she hadn’t been able to save. Things to help her remember what was at stake. Things to help her remember why she was living the life she did.

Tucked into the very bottom was a small, slender rosewood box that had been a gift from Nana when she was a child. Taking it out, she turned and moved to the bed. Sitting on the edge, she slipped the key into the well-worn lock and turned it slowly. The lid snapped quietly and she paused. Taking another breath, she lifted the lid and peered inside. She smiled slightly at the small stack of little post-it notes that sat on top. Each one brought back a memory that she had thought that she had locked away along with everything else from that time.

A small smile quirked her lips when she read “21 – Are you sure you’re ready for this?” It had been stuck on a bottle of champagne that had been left on the seat of her car when she had turned 21. She had turned to see Lindsey leaning against the side of his truck, arms folded across his chest, smiling at her. They had dropped her car off at her small apartment and had driven up the coast to a quiet campsite for the weekend.

In her own hand she saw the note “Congrats, I knew you could do it!” Lindsey had won a very important case for the firm. They had gone out to dinner that night and celebrated his first of many victories.

As she flipped through them, she paused when caught her eye. It was a simple message written in Lindsey’s compact scrawl. “ME TOO”. She swallowed roughly around the sudden lump that had formed in her throat. She had hoped that he’d been asleep when she had whispered to him how she felt about him. When she had found the note stuck squarely on the file folder he had handed her to take back to the records room Evan’s legs had nearly given out from under her. Those two little words had let her know that her secret was out. And shared.

Setting aside the notes she dug deeper in the box and pulled out various little items from that time. Her smile grew sad when she saw the worn photo nestled in the bottom of the box. She carefully removed it and ran a finger lightly over it. He had been so different the night it had been taken. She closed her eyes against the sudden memory that filled her mind, but it refused to be pushed aside.

~~~

 

_"I don't want you to be afraid," Lindsay said to her as they walked down the steps to the large black doorway. "The patrons in here are," he seemed to search for the right word. "Different."_

_Evan gave him a sweet smile. She doubted that after some of the things she had seen that anything in here would scare her._

_She really wasn't prepared when she walked in the doorway. Stopping dead, her jaw dropped. When Lindsey had whispered to her that he wanted to bring her to a place named Caritas, she had thought a little night club where they could have a few drinks and do some dancing. This was so far removed from what she had been expecting._

_Demons. The patrons were all demons._

_Her hand inched up into the sleeve of her jacket towards the stake she kept tucked there. She took a deep breath and felt her body tense._

_"Don't worry," Lindsay told her, looking back at her encouragingly. When he saw her hand inch up into her sleeve he leaned over and whispered in her ear. “There's nothing here that can hurt you."_

_"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Evan said quietly as she looked around. Just off the top of her head, she could name about ten of the patrons that were inclined to dissect humans, and not with a scalpel._

_"You're in Switzerland sweetie," came a voice from behind her._

_Evan turned quickly towards the voice, her nerves drawn tight and her body on alert. She gaped when she caught sight of the brilliant red eyes peering out of the impossibly green face._

_"This is The Host," Lindsay told her. “He owns the club.”_

_"The Host, Lorne, either one," he said to her, his brilliant red lips tilting up into a smile._

_"Um," Evan paused, still taking in the bright red suit that the, demon? Wore. "Hello?"_

_"There's a seat over there, we can sit and watch the show," Lindsay said to her, taking her hand._

_Evan was about to turn with him when the Green One reached out and took her hand. "I told your grandmother, now I'm telling you; there will be no hunting in my club. What you do after you leave is none of my concern."_

_Evan didn't have a chance to react, Lindsay tugged her over to the table. She sat down despite the uneasy feeling running down her back. She tried to remember any mention of Caritas in her Nana’s journals, but for the life of her, she couldn’t. But The Host, or Lorne, knew who she was, what she was. And he knew her grandmother. And that wasn’t good because the rest of them knew too, they had to._

_Looking around uneasily, she saw that some of the patrons – no, not patrons, demons, she had to remember that – demons were looking at her. Yup, they knew._

_“Lindsey,” she grasped at his arm, “I think we should go. Now.”_

_“Evan, it’s okay. Nothing can harm you,” Lindsey assured her, leaning over to settle a soft kiss against her lips._

_“Are you kidding me? Lindsey, they’re,” she lowered her voice when she saw that a few heads were turning their way. “They’re demons,” she emphasized with a hiss._

_“I know,” Lindsey replied, and she stared at him in surprise. Taking her hands in his, he looked at her. “Caritas is protected by a non-violence spell. No one can harm each other here. You’re safe.”_

_“But,” she started, but interrupted when the soft strains of a piano filled the air. Looking towards the stage at the front of the room, Evan gaped as a huge demon which she could have sworn was a Makwok demon ran bat like hands over the keys. Her eyes widened when a soft, melodic voice issued from the almost rat looking face. The words were in a demonic language, and she had no idea what the creature was singing about, but the emotion behind it seemed to reach out to her._

_Evan was still listening to the strange, demonic words the demon was singing when The Host brought them each a drink a few minutes later. “Poor bastard. His mate went outside her species. She’s going to have kittens and he has no idea.” He smiled at her when he saw the quizzical look that crossed her face. “Yes, dear heart, actual kittens. Or rather, half-demon kittens.” To Lindsey, he said, "You'll have to get your girl up to sing for me while you're here. I’m sure there's a tale in her future." He said to Lindsay, but those glowing red eyes never left her._

_“What do you mean?” Evan stammered, helpless not to stare at the red eyes that seemed to be trying to reach into her soul._

_“The Host is an empath demon Evan,” Lindsey explained._

_“A few notes of any song and I can see your future. Except anything by Dianne Warren or Celine Dion, those just make me want to scratch my eyes out,” The Host made a face and shuddered._

_“I already know my future,” Evan said with a small smile, glancing over at Lindsey._

_“Sometimes the future we want isn’t what we get,” the Host said softly to her._

_“And sometimes one just has to fight for the future we want,” Evan answered back, her voice just carrying under the last strains of music from the demon on stage._

_“We shall see,” the Host said enigmatically. “And now I have to go find a nice way to tell that poor boy his future.”_

_Once the Host had left the table and stepped up on stage to address the patrons of the club. When another demon stepped up onto the stage, Evan’s eyes widened, a frission of fear ran down her spine. The demon was a member of a fierce warrior race with wickedly sharp, almost lobster-like claws at the end of its arms. Looking at the claws, she shuddered when she saw the splashes of blood staining them._

_“Lindsey, I really think we should get out of here,” Evan said, her voice growing tight with agitation._

_Lindsey reached over the table and cupped Evans chin between his thumb and forefinger, gently forcing her to look at him. Rising from his chair, he leaned over and pressed his lips softly to hers. Evan breathed softly and then moved towards him as Lindsey’s mouth started to pull back from hers. A few moments later he pulled his mouth away from hers and grinned at the look on her face._

_“Darlin’, trust me. We’ll be okay here,” he assured her softly as he sat back down._

_Still looking a little un-nerved, Evan sat back on her chair stiffly. Sipping the drink, which she really didn’t want to admit was rather tasty, she watched the crowd. Filing away little pieces of information that she thought might be useful for later use._

_She was startled out of her observation when Lindsey stood up from the table and then leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek. “I’m up,” he said softly._

_“Pardon?” Evan looked up at him, a questioning look in her eyes._

_“I’m going up to sing,” he explained with a smile._

_“You’re going to let him read you? Lindsey, you don’t need to have a green-faced demon read you to tell you your future,” Evan said, taking hold of his hand to try and keep him at the table. She didn’t want to let him go out of her sight, she didn’t trust that any of the demons that surrounded him would hold to “non-violence.”_

_“Darlin’, I’m not singing for him. I’m singing for you.” Lindsey gave her a cocky smile and blew her a kiss._

_Evan lips parted, and a slow smile spread across them. She’d always loved to hear Lindsey sing, and it was something he didn’t do enough._

_Lindsey turned from the table and made his way up onto the stage. Grabbing the guitar that was propped up against the piano, he sat on the stool that had been set up in the middle of it. Adjusting his long legs and then setting the guitar in a comfortable position, he lightly ran his fingers across the strings, the soft strains making the crowd grow quiet. Evan felt a warm skittering down her back as she focused her attention on him. Reaching into her purse, she grabbed the small camera from her purse and snapped a quick picture of Lindsey._

_“Pretty girl on every corner, sunshine turns the sky to gold,” he began, his voice soft as his blue eyes catching and holding Evan’s green ones. She watched with rapt attention as he sang. Her heart sped up and beat roughly against her chest. She bit her bottom lip to stifle the groan that rose within her throat as she watched his fingers strummed against the strings._

_When Lindsey was finished the song, he let the melody trail off and then put the guitar back against the piano. He took a slight bow and then started to make his way off the stage and back towards the table and Evan._

_“Hold up there, cowboy,” The Host caught his arm and dragged him aside. “I know you think your future is laid out all nice and sunny with that pretty little girl there, but things don’t always the way you plan.”_

_Though she couldn't hear what The Host was saying, she watched him closely and found that she was able to follow his lips, his words bringing a frown to her face._

~*~

 

“Evan? You okay?”

At the light knock on her door, Evan gave her head a shake and looked up to find Kit standing in the doorway. “Yeah. I’m fine,” she said softly. Glancing down at the picture in her hand she bit her bottom lip.

Kit walked over to the side of the bed and sat down on the edge. Reaching out, she took the picture from Evan’s hand and looked down at it. “He looks different.”

“That was when he was a Jr Lawyer. Stylish haircuts and expensive suits. All designed to give an image of wealth and power,” Evan said softly, a small smile tilting one side of her mouth.

Kit took some of the items from the box and flipped through them, sending Evan a questioning look at some of them. Evan took them back from her and set them back in the box. Snapping the lid closed, she reset the lock and then rose from the bed. Putting the box back in the wardrobe, she pushed the panel back in place. Turning back to her sister, she said simply. “Don’t ask.”

Grabbing a change of clothes from her dresser, she disappeared into her bathroom to take a quick shower.

Kit sat on the bed for a moment watching the door between her and her sister. When she heard the water running, she sighed and rose from the bed, making her way from the bedroom and down the stairs to the living room. Once there, she sat in one of the wingback chairs and looked at the man lying on the couch.

There was still so much of her sister’s time in LA that she knew nothing about. But Lindsay, she knew about. Her sister’s weekly calls had been scattered with mention of him. And at the time Kit had been happy to hear the bubbly excitement in her sister’s voice. And the nervousness when Evan had announced that she was going to be bringing Lindsay home with her to meet their parents.

And then things had gone south, and Kit still had no real idea what had happened.

~*~

_Kit woke up the moment she heard the thump in the living room. She laid quietly for a moment and then slowly eased the covers off her legs and swung them over the edge of the bed and sat up. Rising to her feet, she inched her way out of her room and up the hallway to the living room. She paused in the doorway and let her eyes adjust to the moonlight filtering in through the windows._

_Grabbing the baseball bat she kept near the door, she waited until she picked out the shape on the couch. It moved, raising a beer bottle? What kind of burglar breaks in and steals a beer?_

_She reached a hand out for the light switch and flipped it on, then stepped out from around the corner, the baseball bat raised threateningly._

_"I'll pay for the beer, there's no need to beat me," Evan said quietly, squinting against the bright flare of light._

_"Evan?"_

_"Hey Kit," she said softly, her words slurring slightly._

_Kit dropped the baseball bat and went over to the couch and sat on the edge, giving her sister a hug. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Hiding out?" Evan said, swinging her legs over the edge of the couch and rising to her feet._

_Kit ran a critical eye over her sister and frowned. It had been a long time since she had seen Evan, but even she could tell that she was way too thin. And pale. Except her face. She could see the redness and the puffiness in her eyes._

_"What's wrong? When you called, last week, you said you weren't coming up until Friday."_

_"Yeah well, things have changed since then," Evan muttered and took a swig of the beer._

_Kit rose from the couch and went over to Evan, taking the bottle away from her. "What happened?" Something really bad must have happened. Evan didn't drink. Much. And when Kit had talked to her, she had seen so happy and excited, wanting so much to introduce Kit to the man she had been seeing, Lindsey Somethingorother._

_"Nothing," Evan said, but her voice tightened._

_"Sis," Kit prodded._

_"I found out that Lindsey works for Evil Incarnate," Evan said._

_"He works for Microsoft?" Kit asked, trying to get her sister to smile._

_"Wolfram and Hart. The law firm. They defend demons Sis. Demons like the one that killed Nana."_

_"Oh. Not good."_

_"No. And he wouldn't leave them. So I left him," Evan said miserably, then looked at Kit and burst into tears._

~*~

Lindsey opened his eyes blearily, blinking as the room swam into focus. As he moved on the couch, on which he had no idea how he had ended up, he could feel tape tugging at his chest. He lifted his head and a smirk tugged at the scarred corner of his mouth. Trust Evan to deal with a supposedly dead man showing up at her house unexpectedly by providing him with medical attention. He moved to sit up, but the room swam in front of his eyes. Despite her best efforts, there was still too much of the Nafmis’s venom in his system. He could feel it burning up his veins, the fire building until he would eventually feel his insides liquefy to make room for the demon spawn the Nafmis had implanted.

As far as ways to die went, having his internal organs used to feed a damned demon and then have it burst out of him like something from the freaking Alien movies was definitely NOT on his approved list. It was not something he was sure he could recover from either.

“Lindsey? You’re awake.” Evan came in and sat down on the edge of the coffee table nearby. Lindsey held out a hand to her, but she didn’t take it until she looked at the floor. He followed her gaze, seeing the ring of salt that circled the couch on which he lay, and that his hand broke the plane of the circle.

“It’s okay, darlin`. I’m still me,” he drawled and then tried to push himself up onto his elbow, but the pain from his wounds made his head swim so he lay still.

“But what *are* you?” Evan asked him, still not quite sure what to make of everything that had happened in the last little while.

“Does it matter?”

“If you’re a risk to my family, yes,” she told him truthfully.

"Trust me darlin', I'm not a risk to your family," Lindsey answered. He then grimaced as he felt something move within him. He curled his arm over his chest and groaned sharply. "Well, then again," he croaked.

"Sis, what's wrong with him?" Kit asked, sliding off the chair and moving over to her sister.

Evan looked at him in dismay, "I don't know. Lindsey? What's wrong?" She moved closer to him but reared back when she saw something bulging the skin of his stomach out. "Oh my god. That's like," she began, a queasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach, but Lindsey's cry of pain stopped her. She dropped to her knees beside the couch, not realizing that she broke the salt barrier as she did so.

"I'll explain when I come back," Lindsey said roughly, his breathing labored. "But you have to get it out of me."

"Come back? Lindsey what are you talking about? You're in no condition," Evan began.

As she spoke, Lindsey dug one hand in his pocket and dug out his large pocket knife. Flipping it open with one thumb, he looked up at Evan and gave her a wink. "I'll be right back. I hope," he said just before he plunged the knife deep into his chest, piercing his heart.

Kit and Evan gave out a horrified scream as they watched Lindsey. Within seconds, his hand slipped from the knife handle and lay limply over his chest. The pain dulled eyes glazed over and became the empty eyes of a doll. Blood seeped from his parted lips and dripped to the floor.

"Lindsey? Lindsey!" Evan screamed as she dropped to the floor and took his face between her hands. Turning his face towards her, she slapped his cheek. "Lindsey? Please wake up." When his eyes closed, she grabbed his shoulders and began shaking him.

"Sis, he's gone," Kit said, laying her hands on her sister’s shoulder and tried to draw her away, hearing the fear and horror in her voice.

"He said he'd be back," Evan said as she continued to shake his shoulders.

"Evan, it pierced his heart. He's dead," Kit reasoned.

"He was supposed to be dead already, yet here he is," her sister argued.

"Sis, I don't know what's going on, but we've got another problem," Kit reminded her, pointing to the bulge that was forming in Lindsey's stomach.

Drawing her attention away from Lindsey's face, Evan followed her sisters gaze and saw the movement under his skin. "Um, please tell me that’s not what I think it is.” But the way her wrists were beginning to itch told her already what it was.

"Yeah, it is. Whatever got Carlos got Lindsey too," Kit murmured, jumping when the skin bowed out again, further this time.

"Think that's what he meant by getting _it_ out of him?"

Kit nodded her head quickly. "Oh, I think so."

Grasping the handle of the knife protruding from Lindsey's chest, Evan took a deep breath before pulling it out. She whimpered as she heard the sickening suck of the blade sliding through the bones and the sudden gush of blood that spurted from the wound over the front of her shirt and her hands as she pushed a hand against the bulge in his stomach.

"Sis, I need your help," Evan said, ignoring the itch as she shifted the knife in her hand. Looking over her shoulder at her sister, Evan found Kit standing with her hand pressed against her mouth. "Don't fall apart on me now."

Kit took a deep breath to push aside the nausea that roiled in her stomach. "Evan, I couldn't even dissect a frog in biology class."

"Sis, I need you!" Evan said roughly as she closed her eyes and took a calming breath. "I'm going to cut, just be ready for whatever comes out."

Grabbing a knife from her bag, Kit stepped over to her sister and braced herself as Evan pressed the tip of the blade against Lindsey's stomach and pushed it in.

Evan gagged as the sharp steel sliced easily through the layers of skin. Clenching her jaw tightly, she dragged the blade downwards quickly, not letting herself think of what she was doing. When she heard metal scraping on metal, she gasped and jumped as the small dark shape reared up suddenly.

"Oh god," she whispered, falling back as the familiar insect-like demon uncurled its head from under itself and the antenna unfolded. It opened its jaws and hissed at them before crawling out of Lindsay's stomach cavity and dropped to the floor. Evan scrambled over the line of salt to stand on the outside of it.

"Sis, the salt line's broken!" Kit cried suddenly as the demon darted towards them.

"Oh shit," Evan swore viciously as the demon crossed the broken line easily and disappeared under one of the chairs. "Dammit, we have to find it!"


	11. Ten

As Dean drove past the pickup truck parked down the street he realized that it was the same one that had been there when he had taken Sam to the train station. He couldn't recall the vague shape of the man sitting in the cab, but he noticed now that it was empty, and it sent a feeling of unease down his spine.

Maybe he was being overly cautious, but with what had happened to Sam in Avalon, and then Carlos being killed, he wasn't going to take any chances. And he was suddenly glad that his father, having noticed his inattention at work, had sent Dean home early.

What he hadn't expected when he walked into the house was to see the furniture in complete disarray, his girlfriend and his sister-in-law standing back to back with knives, swords and sais in hand, looking frantically around the room. Nor did he expect to see the dead body sprawled along the couch and the large pool of blood beneath it.

"What the hell?" He started, but was cut off by Kit's yell.

"Shut the door, don't let it get out!"

Slamming the front door, Dean was instantly on alert. He pulled the pistol he had tucked in the waistband of his jeans and cocked it quickly. Holding it in front of him he looked to the floor as Kit and Evan were, trying to find something out of place.

"It has a metallic shell, guns won't do anything to it," Evan said as she took a step away from Kit and circled slowly, her eyes never leaving the floor as she listened.

"What are we looking for?" He asked, taking a step into the room, careful not to disturb the line of salt along the doorway.  
"It's the same thing that was in Carlos," Kit told him. “The little fucker is hiding somewhere around here."

Stepping further into the room, Dean scanned the floor quickly. Flipping the safety on the gun, he tucked it back into the waistband of his jeans and took one of the knives from the bag on the floor. "Are you two okay?" As questioned as he spared a glance at the body on the couch.

"Yeah, we're fine," Evan said, walking around one of the wingback chairs, stooping to peer beneath it. As she stood up she stopped when she caught sight of Kit staring at her. "What?"

"Sis, don't move," Kit warned her. "Dean?"

"I see it," he said, frowning as he saw the insect-like demon crawling up the wall behind Evan. The upper part of its body swiveling towards her. The mouth opened, and the milky liquid dripped from its sheer white teeth. Moving slowly as to not attract its attention, Dean shifted the knife in his hand and when he was close enough he said, "Evan, duck!"

Dropping down, Evan heard the knife blade sing over her head and impact deeply into the wall. She heard the shriek of the demon and the thud of the metallic body hitting the floor. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the trail of greenish colored blood stain the wall and gagged as the scent of it hit her. "Gross," she muttered as she stood up.

"Don't touch it Dean," Kit said as she ran into the kitchen and grabbed the Bar-Be-Que tongs from the drawer and two large ziplock bags. Coming back into the living room, she picked up the body and slid it into one of the bags and the head in the other and sealed them.

"Okay, now that number two problem is dead, can we discuss the number one problem. The dead guy on the couch?" Dean asked the two women sardonically. "What the hell has been going on here?"

"Um, we're not really sure," Kit answered honestly. "And just for the record, we didn't kill him," she added as she pointed towards the couch. "He did that himself."

"He sliced himself open?" Dean questioned slowly, and they heard the disbelief in his voice.

"No, um, we had to do that," Evan said weakly as she sank into the chair beside the couch. “Or rather, I did.” 

Dean walked over to the couch and looked down at the man lying there. He frowned as he looked at his face. Something niggled at his memory, but he couldn't place it immediately. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Honestly Dean, I don't know. To get the answers, we have to wait for him to come back," Evan said.   
"Baby, he's dead," Dean told her, looking at her and found himself suddenly worried by the look on her face.

"No, he's not. He said he'd be back. We have to get that stomach wound stitched up," she said with surety as she ran up the stairs, missing the frown on both Kit and Dean's face. Throwing open the doors to the hallway closet, she grabbed the sewing kit from inside and went back downstairs. Dropping to her knees beside the body she flipped open the kit and began pawing through it until she found the needle and then dug the medical thread out of the first aid kit.

"Baby," Dean began, laying his hands on her shoulders, but she shrugged him off. Grasping her shoulders, he pulled her back from the body and forced her to look at him. "Baby, he's dead. I'm sorry, but he's not coming back."

Looking at him, and then at her sister, she took a deep breath and tried to marshal her thoughts. "Guys, I know it seems like he's dead, but he's not," she said, and then stopped when she could see that she wasn't convincing them.

"Sis," Kit began hesitantly. "No one could live through that," she pointed at the gaping hole in Lindsay's stomach.

"If he was dead, I'd feel it," Evan countered, holding up her wrists. "If he was dead, his spirit would still be here, trapped in the house. And I would be going nuts. I am not itching any more than I usually do. When the demon was in Carlos, I nearly itched my wrists raw, didn't I Kit?"

"Yeah, you did," Kit said slowly, a frown crossing her face as she looked from Dean, to her sister to the body. She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t know what she could say to convince her sister that the man she knew, was dead.

Looking at Dean, Evan said softly. "Look, I know it sounds weird. But I have to trust what he said." Folding her hands together and then pressing them against her mouth, she took a deep breath. "Please. Just give me a few hours,” she paused. “Three. Three hours. Please."

Dean didn't know if it was the look on her face or the desperation in her voice, but he closed his eyes and hung his head. "Okay. You have three hours. But in that time, we have to think of something the explain this," he warned her.

Giving him a quick kiss, Evan then turned to kneel beside the couch and started to thread a needle. She braced herself as she pressed against his abdomen and pinched the two sides of the wound together, beginning to make a row of small stitches.

"Oh, I'm going to be sick," Kit muttered as she ran from the room.

"What the hell is going on here?" Sam questioned in both irritation and surprise as he stepped through the doorway, followed closely by John.

"Sam!" Dean said in startled remembrance. "I'm sorry man," he apologized, looking at his watch and finding that he had lost track of time and had forgotten to pick up his brother.

"Dude, I called you, but you didn't answer," Sam said as he stepped into the living room. "I had to call Dad to come and get me."

"Would someone explain to me what's going on here?" John said in confusion and dismay as he took in the sight of the dead man and his soon to be daughter-in-law stitching him up.

"Hi baby," Kit said as she wobbled back into the room and wrapped her arm around Sam’s waist, leaning her head against his chest. "We're not entirely sure," she answered Johns question before leaning up to give Sam a kiss.

"Okay, now we wait," Evan said as she finished stitching. She packed up the first aid kit and then went into the kitchen to get some rags.

"Wait for what?" John questioned her, looking at Dean as she walked out.

"For him to come back," Evan said quietly as she came in with a handful of rags and a bucket of warm, soapy water. She knelt beside the couch and began cleaning up the blood that had spilled onto the floor, and over her hands. She ignored them all as she cleaned, and then went over to the wall to clean up the greenish blood on it, careful not to touch it.

John looked at his sons and Kit with an uncertain look and then stepped over to the couch and looked down at the man sprawled upon it. "I know him," John said in disbelief. "Leonard Kane. He's a hunter out of San Antonio."

"That's who it is!" Dean exclaimed. "I thought he looked familiar."

"Who? What? A hunter?" Evan looked up at them. "What are you talking about?"

"Guys this isn't a hunter," Kit countered in confusion.

"Yeah, he is. Dean and I spent a day with him in San Antonio. We were checking out a possible demon feeding ground. Turned out to be a bunch of rabid animal attacks, but yeah, his name is Leonard. Leo."

"That's not his name," Evan said quietly, cutting in before Kit could argue. "His name was - is - Lindsey McDonald. He wasn't a hunter. He was a lawyer for Wolfram and Hart. And if he convinced you that it was rabid animal attacks than it probably was a demon hunting ground and he was retrieving them for the firm."

"You know him?" Dean asked her, stooping to look at her. "I think you need to tell us what's going on." 

Evan looked up at him when she heard the edge of anger in his voice. "Yes, I know him. But I'm not really sure what's going on. He was supposed to be dead. That’s what they told me, when I called for him," she told them.

"You called Wolfram and Hart?" John questioned her in surprise.

“It was before Amber and Carlos,” she assured him, though from the look on his face that didn’t make it any better.

"When did you call them?" Sam asked her.

"When we were trying to get Dean out of jail," Kit answered.

“You knew that she’d called them?” He asked his wife sharply.

"No offence Sam, but your professor wasn't working fast enough. So I thought I'd call in a favor," Evan replied.

"You called them, knowing what they did? What they defended?" Dean questioned her, his anger growing.

Evan hung her head and pressed a hand against her eyes as they began to sting with tears. "Yes! I was desperate. I would have done anything to get Dean out of jail!" She cried, tears streaking her face as she looked at the looks on John, Sam and Deans faces. "But they told me he was dead. And then all of a sudden, today, he shows up in our basement. The next thing I know, he's telling me that he'll be back, stabs himself in the chest and a demon is crawling out of him. So now you know everything I know."

"Well, not quite everything Darlin'" came the groggy voice from the couch.


	12. Eleven

Lindsay's body jerked slightly as the blood, once thick and putrid now warm and nourishing, began to pound through his veins. The pain dulled as his body started to regenerate. The damage that the demon had done to his insides being healed. He kept himself still as it worked its way through his body, letting it flow, and trying to ignore the tingling in his nerve endings as they began to revive. He took a long, slow silent breath as the fog began to clear from his mind. Everything over the past few days flashed instantly through his brain right up to the searing pain of the blade slicing into his chest.

He heard the voices around him and listened for a moment, picking out the one voice he knew without question. Evan. He would know that voice anywhere. He had heard it in his dreams every night. The huskiness of it was clouded with tears, but even they couldn't diminish the quality of it.

As the pain of the reawakening began to leave him, he realized that there was a different pain running through his body. He could feel the throbbing of his ankle, and the searing fire in his chest. He cracked an eye and took in the long row of neat stitches that ran down his stomach. That was going to leave a scar, he thought sardonically.

Turning his head slightly, he listened to the explanation that Evan gave the three men standing around the room, their attention focused on her as she spoke, not paying him any mind.

"Well, not quite everything Darlin'," he said as he pushed himself up into a half sitting position once she was done explaining.

"Lindsey!" Evan exclaimed as she took in the sight of the dead man, once again alive, again, struggling to sit up on the couch. Sliding out of her chair, she went over to him and helped him sit up. "You came back. You weren't dead. Again," she frowned in confusion as she finished.

"It seems to be becoming a habit for me," he said with a rueful grin. "You still look good."

"And you look like death warmed over. Again," Kit groused.

"What the hell do you mean "not quite everything"?" Dean cut in, staring at the man on the couch. He took in his appearance. The shirt was beyond repair and the jeans were stained with a greenish substance that reeked of death.

"Leo," John began than paused. "Who the hell are you?"

"And what are you doing here?" Sam finished.

"Can I get a drink of water first?" Lindsey asked hoarsely, his throat was parched, not only from the demon venom that had burned through his system, but also from the "reawakening" process. "Actually, a beer would go down better."

"I'll get you some water," Kit said and quickly disappeared into the kitchen but was back a moment later to hand him a glass of ice-water. “I got you some aspirin to, for the pain.”

“Thanks,” he said softly. He didn’t think the pills would help, but they couldn’t hurt.

"Lindsey, please, tell me what's going on. I feel like I'm losing my mind," Evan said quietly.

Nodding slowly before taking a drink of water along with the pills, he paused long enough to take a deep breath. "First off, John, Dean, my name isn't Leo Kane. Evan was right. My name is Lindsey McDonald. I'm a, or rather, _was_ a lawyer at Wolfram and Hart."

"Was?" Kit interjected.

"Yeah. I left the firm a while ago," Lindsey explained.

"No one leaves Wolfram and Hart," Evan argued.

"You did Evan," Sam countered, shrugging when he looked at her.

"She was only able to leave because I deleted her file. And what I couldn't delete I buried," Lindsay told them. "Being an intern, it was easier to hide her file. But I had a bigger part to play in the firm. So I had to die. And I did. Literally. Dead man walking here."

"But if you're dead, how can you be... alive?" Kit questioned.

“And how are you able to move around after having your chest sliced open?” Sam added. He looked at the line of stitches along his chest, the blood that stained his skin and clothes.

"And how did you get into the house? We have this place warded up tight, and we have Nana," Dean started. "Why didn't she stop you from getting in?"

"You have the house warded against evil. And I'm not evil, although from the looks on everyone’s faces, that seems to be a matter of opinion,” he said dryly, leaning back against the couch trying to get comfortable. He could feel his body regenerating, but it was still painful.

"Jury's still out on that one," Dean said to him.

"Point taken," Lindsey replied. "I'm not sure what a Nana is though."

"My Nana. Her spirit is in the house with us," Evan explained.

"Catherine Rennie? Her spirit is here?"

"Yeah, it's a long story," Kit said. And then a thought came to her. "Sis, when she possessed you, she had access to all your memories. She knew who he was, and if he's not here to do us any harm, she would have no reason to bar him."

"Oh, my head is starting to ache," Evan said wearily, pressing her fingers to her forehead.

"I'll give you the quick and dirty version," Lindsay said to them. "I'm what they call an Immortal. I was killed, and the spark within me ignited and I was brought back."

"An Immortal?" Sam questioned.

"Immortals are myths," John argued.

"Trust me, we're not myths. There are quite a few of us. We're human. And we live regular lives. The only way you would ever know we were Immortal is if you tried to kill us. There's only one way to kill us."

"Why does it not surprise me?" Evan said with a shake of her head. "Did you know you were when I," she started, but trailed off.

"No, I didn't. I didn't find that out until three years ago. When I died.”

“How? How did you die?” Evan questioned. She knew that he was sitting right in front of her, but to know that he had actually died sent a stab through her chest.

“I was shot. By The Host,” he answered. “I was helping Angel and his group bring down the Circle of the Black Thorn. And he had The Host kill me.”

“Lorne shot you?” Evan exclaimed. “The host of Caritas? So much for his “non-violence” policy,” she snorted.

“It wasn’t at Caritas,” he told her.

Kit raised her hand hesitantly. “What’s Caritas? And who’s Angel?”

“Angel is a vampire that was running Wolfram and Hart, trying to take it down from the inside,” Lindsay told her. “Not sure what happened to him after I was shot.”

“Caritas is a demon bar,” Evan explained. “Think Switzerland in the demon versus human conflict.”

“It’s a real place?” John asked in surprise.

“You’ve heard of it Dad?” Sam questioned his father in surprise.

“I’d heard rumors,” John replied. “But I didn’t actually believe it existed.”

“When you first go in, its unnerving,” Evan told Sam and John. “Demons everywhere. And they knew who I was.”

“Um, can we get back to the not-so-dead dead guy, and what he’s doing here?” Dean interjected gruffly.

Evan and Kit had the good grace to look at him sheepishly. John sat down in one of the wingback chairs and crossed one booted foot over his knee. Sam and Dean looked back at Lindsey.

Lindsey took a sip of the water and then began again. “Since I left five years ago, I've been flying under the radar. Had been doing quite well avoiding Wolfram and Hart until a few days ago. I got a visit from their new golden boy. I don't know how they found me, or how they knew I was alive. He wanted information."

"What information?" Kit asked him.

"They wanted to know how you," he looked at Evan," knew about the Lavelle Emerald. They thought that I gave the information to you."

"But you didn't," she answered with a frown. "We figured it out on our own." When Evan saw the frown on Lindsey’s' face, they explained what had happened in Avalon.

"Both Amber and Carlos?" Lindsey said with a touch of genuine sadness. He remembered the couple that Evan had introduced him to a few times when she had lived in Los Angeles. "There's a new head of the Firm. A Mr. Huang Se, I think that's what Jacob called him. And he thinks that I told you about the emerald. He sent Jacob to my place to find out where you were and what else I'd told you."

"What did you tell him?" Dean asked angrily, still not sure if he should trust Lindsey. He’d lied to him the whole time he’d spent with him. And just the fact that he had been a lawyer for the firm that were responsible for Amber and Carlos’s deaths, and knew the workings at very same firm made him more disinclined to trust him.

"I didn't tell him anything. I couldn't. I didn't even know where Evan was. I had to have one of the other Immortals find out where she was."

"That demon that we took out of you. Do you know what it is?" Kit questioned. "There was one of them inside of Carlos too."

"It's called a Nafmis. It's a scavenger demon. Kind of like a cockroach. Its "blood" isn't really blood. It's a reproductive fluid. If it gets into an open cut, it uses the hosts blood to reproduce and the body to incubate the spawn."

Evan turned green suddenly as she looked down at the large red and green stain on her shirt from when she had cut into Lindsay. "Great. If it's not blobby demon guts that smell like rotting pumpkins that I get splattered with, it's green demon sperm. I'm going to go on record and say that demons spewing bodily fluids is just downright skeevy."

"So, you came to warn Evan that Wolfram and Hart is looking for her?" John said, ignoring Evan's outburst.

"Yes. When Jacob found me, and asked about Evan," he looked at John, "I knew I had to warn you," he ended as he looked at Evan. "I thought I'd hidden your file from them. I'm sorry. I couldn't leave you in the dark again."

Evan looked at Lindsey and sighed. There could be a lot that she could say about Lindsey, but he had been trying to warn her. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Lindsey," she said quietly and then rose from the couch and headed to the doorway. "I want to take a shower and get this," she paused and shuddered. "Off of me."

Watching the gentle sway of her hips as she started to leave the room and catching the way that Dean's eyes slid over her, Lindsey felt a sudden lick of mischief fill him. And no small streak of jealousy. "Um, Darlin', you didn't quite tell them the whole story, you know."

Dean's gaze snapped back from Evan's hips to the man sitting on the couch. He frowned as the man settled back on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest negligently. "What do you mean?"

Evan stopped dead in the doorway and turned sharply to look at Lindsey. Her eyes widened when she saw the way his bright blue eyes crinkled at the corners. "Lindsey," she started, a warning note in her voice as she took a step towards him. “Don’t.”

"Evan and I didn't just work together," he paused for a moment, ignoring the warning growl Evans throat and looking at Dean. "We were lovers."

“Oh boy,” Evan groaned as she pressed the heels of her hands against her lowered forehead and clenched her eyes shut.


	13. Twelve

“You and him?” Dean asked through clenched teeth, his look going between Evan and Lindsey. “You and him.”

“Yup. Taught her everything she knows,” Lindsey drawled, meeting Deans darkening look.

“Oh god Lindsey, shut up!” Evan snarled at him, breathing harshly and just wishing that the floor would open up and swallow her.

Kit took a sharp breath and covered her mouth in surprise, more shocked that he actually said it out loud. She’d had a very good idea from years back that they had been lovers.

Sam looked at his father and they both decided that it would be best that they stayed out of it. Especially when they looked at the dark look that came across Deans face as he looked at the man on the couch. Lindsey on the other hand, sat comfortably with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet kicked up on the table, his sore ankle crossed over the other one, a smug look over his face.

Evan’s look darkened as she caught the smugness on his face. She turned to Dean and saw that his eyes had darkened as he looked at Lindsay and then her. _Oh, I can’t handle this right now_ , she thought. “I’m going to go take another shower,” she announced stiltedly and then turned sharply on her heel and made for the door.

“Evan, come back here!” Dean growled and then pushed past Sam to follow her. “We need to talk about this!”

“No, we don’t!” She yelled back, darting up the stairs without looking back.

“Why would you do that?” Kit asked Lindsey with a touch of exasperation.

“I wanted to see something,” Lindsey said slowly, but didn’t explain what he meant.

“So, how long are you staying?” Sam asked. He wanted to know if he and Kit were going to have to take Jimmy over to her parents and camp out there for the duration. He definitely wouldn’t be able to study if his brother and Evan were going to be going to be fighting.

“I’ve done what I came to do,” Lindsey said as he dropped his feet carefully to the floor, wincing as pain shot up his leg from his ankle. “I wanted to make sure that Evan knew that Wolfram and Hart were after her. And I can guess by extension, all of you.”

“We’re used to things being after us,” John told him.

Lindsey looked at the older man. He’d gone a little grey in the beard since the last time he’d seen him, but he still had the bearing of a hunter that Lindsey had first noticed in the man. “Not like this you haven’t,” he said in earnest as he looked at them. “They have enormous power and if they wanted to, they could send a constant barrage of demons down on you until everything you love lays in ruins.”

~*~

When Evan got to the top of the stairs, she heard Deans footsteps following close behind her. She darted into her bedroom and slammed the door. Moments later Dean threw open the door and stepped in. He shut the door hard behind him and leaned against it, his arms crossed over his chest as he tracked her nervous movements. She pulled out a fresh change of clothes from the armoire and tossed them on the bed. Knowing that he was there she stopped and took a deep breath before looking at him.

“Yes, Dean. Lindsey and I were lovers for a short time,” she said softly.

“Was he your boss?” Dean asked slowly, his back stiffening against the door.

“No. I was assigned to Lilah Morgan, technically. But all the lawyers used the interns,” she said and then saw the sardonic look on his face. “I mean that we worked for everyone basically.”

“How long did you know him?”

“About two and a half years,” she answered as she fiddled with the clothes on the bed.

“Did you fuck him as soon as you met him too? Or did you wait at least a week?”

“That’s not fair!” She cried, hurt that he would say that.

“How long were you,” he motioned, not wanting to say it. “And was he your first?”

“Yes. He was my first, Dean. We were together for two years,” she said defensively as the look on his face darkened.

“Two years?” Dean growled. “You slept with him for two years and didn’t think say “Oh by the way, I banged my boss, who just happens to work for an evil law firm”?”

Evan gave him an exasperated glare. “For one, he wasn’t my boss,” she snapped and then stopped. A look flitted across her face and she rounded the bed and came towards the door. Pushing Dean out of the way, she opened the door.  
“Lindsey!” she yelled.

“What darlin’?” came the drawl from downstairs.

“Lilah?” She questioned, biting her lip as she waited for the answer.

“Dead,” he replied lazily.

“Coming back?” She ignored the look Dean gave her from where he’d moved to the side of the bed.

“No chance of that. Special Assignment in a Hell dimension.”

“Good,” Evan slammed the door. One less thing coming back to haunt her. “He wasn’t my boss,” she repeated. “And at the time I didn’t know that Wolfram and Hart was evil. I didn’t find that out until later. And when I did find out, I walked away from them. And Lindsey.”

“And yet he was the first one you called when I was in jail,” he retorted.

“Jesus Dean,” Evan pushed her hands through her hair in frustration. “I was desperate! And who better to get you out of jail? And he was a good lawyer, he was. He just worked for an evil law firm.”

“You should have told me about him!” Dean snapped. Her defense of the man was irritating him and made his anger rise.

“It was over between us! Had been for years!” Evan snapped. “And frankly it was none of your business. You knew I wasn’t a virgin when we got together.”

“None of my business?” Dean threw up his hands and shook his head. “My fiancée, the mother of my son, has a two-year affair with her boss and I don’t need to know?”

“He wasn’t my boss!” Evan shouted angrily. “And no! It wasn’t any of your business!”

“I told you about Cassie!” Dean shouted back.

“I never asked about her. You chose to tell me,” she said, pointing at him defensively. “So, don’t lay that at my feet.”

“For fuck’s sake Evan!” Dean snarled at her.

“Dean, Nana hadn’t died too long before that,” her voice softened as she tried to reason with him. “I’d just moved away from home. And you know how my parents are. I didn’t have to answer to anyone. I went a little punch drunk with the freedom. And Lindsey was,” she paused, not sure how to explain. “He was so different from any guy I’d met before. He was more mature than the guys I went to school with, or had dated. He was handsome, and smart, charming and was fearless in what he did.”

“Why didn’t you marry him than!” Dean snapped at her, his anger growing.

“If he’d asked, I would have!” She shouted back her anger flaring. “Except the whole thing about, you know, evil law firm. But I didn’t Dean. I didn’t marry him, I walked away from him. And I’m with you.”

“Well, you didn’t stay away from him for long,” Dean said, his voice lowering. “And you should have told me.”

“Oh, for God’s sake!” Evan retorted, her voice and anger rising again. “You are such a fucking idiot!” She took a deep breath and walked over to the vanity and dug in the drawer for a notepad and pen. She quickly scribbled something down and then viciously ripped off the page, thrusting it at him. “Here!” She snapped. “You want to know about everyone. Every sexual conquest I’ve ever had!” She grabbed her clothes off the bed and walked towards the bathroom door. She paused and glared at him. “Just remember Dean, that if you’re going to tar and feather me for having sex with someone I cared about before I met you, then you better bring enough for two!”

Dean looked down at the paper. Lindsey. Lincoln. Dean. That was it. “Who’s Lincoln?” He asked her. Evan growled in exasperation and went into the bathroom, kicking the door shut.

~*~

Behind the door, Evan threw her clothes onto the counter and leaned back against the door. She tipped her head back, breathing deeply, trying to stop the tears that stung her eyes. She didn’t know what was bothering her the most: Dean’s anger at her over her relationship with Lindsey, or Lindsey showing up out of the blue and all those old feelings being dredged up and throwing her into a tailspin.

Pushing herself away from the door she wiped her eyes and then stripped out of the stained clothes and twisted on the shower taps. Winding her hair up into a bun, she stepped into the shower and let the hot water flow over her. This day had gone to hell. Very quickly.

~*~

Dean crumpled the paper in his hand and tossed it into the garbage as he heard the shower turn on. He wanted to go in and calmly talk to Evan, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Her temper was up, and his own was flying just as high. He didn’t want to get into another fight with her. They’d both done enough damage already. He felt bad about what he’d said. And she was right. He hadn’t been an angel when they’d first met. His list was bigger than hers, by a lot.

He walked over to the bathroom door and put his hand on it, before letting it drop. Turning away from the door, he walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the living room. He stopped in the doorway and looked at the man sitting on the couch. His longish hair was tousled, and he could see two silver earrings glint beneath it. He had blue eyes, and Dean realized that there were dark bruises under them, and along his jaw. Even though he hadn’t stood at all, he could see that Lindsey was shorter than him.

Lindsey looked up at the younger man as he stared at him from the doorway. He could see the anger still flushing his face, and hearing some of the noise coming from upstairs, he knew that Evan was still in a mood.

“Look, Dean,” he began. He wasn’t quite sure what he was going to say. “I didn’t mean to start a fight between you two.”

“Yes, you did,” Dean retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, I did. I wanted to see how mad she would get,” Lindsey said.

“Oh, she’s mad,” Kit interjected, hearing a crash from upstairs.

“Yeah, she is,” he answered with a touch of sadness. He’d learned a long time ago that the measure of how much Evan cared was how mad she got. Their last fight, when she’d left him, had been a bad one.

“How long are you staying?” Dean asked stiffly.

“Don’t worry Sport,” Lindsey drawled. “I ain’t staying long.”

“The sooner would be better,” Dean retorted and then flinched when he felt a whack to the back of his head. “Hey! Nana, what was that for?”

“She thinks you’re being rude,” Kit smirked.

“I’m being rude?” He exclaimed. “She let him in!”

“Dean, this new head of Wolfram and Hart is not to be crossed. I don’t know if he was one of the Senior Partners,” Lindsey began.

“The Senior Partners?” Evan asked as she came down the stairs and into the living room. “They were scary.”

“You knew the Senior Partners?” Sam asked.

“Not personally,” she clarified. “They were used as a threat. “The senior partners are not happy,” was not a phrase you wanted to hear,” she shuddered a little.

“And for good reason,” Lindsey told them. “I was brought before them a time or two. And they are not very forgiving,”

“How can a law firm be so powerful?” Dean asked. He still wanted to punish them for what happened to Amber and Carlos.

“They’re an ancient source of demonic power Dean,” Lindsey told him. “They have been around since the first humans kicked the demons off this plane. And they have their fingers in all dimensions.”

“Are they the ones bringing all the demons into this world?” John asked him. There had been so many more possessions in the last few years. And the numbers were growing.

“Not all of them,” Lindsey shook his head at the question. “I’m afraid we humans have the blame for that. But Wolfram and Hart are helping. They help sway the demons power over mankind. And if it gets much worse, than this whole little planet is fucked. The more evil that man commits the more power the demons have. And if it grows too much,” he trailed off.

“Hell on earth,” Kit whispered, and Lindsey nodded.

“Jesus,” Sam said softly. “We kill one demon that wants Hell on earth and another one pops up.”

“To be fair, we did stop Ol’ Yellow Eyes,” Dean reminded them.

“Azazel,” Lindsey told him. “The demon you killed. His name was Azazel. Nice work by the way. I wasn’t sure if the ritual was going to work.”

“How did you know that?” Evan asked Lindsey, then stopped as the rest of his words sunk in. “You gave Father K the ritual?”

“Not directly. I gave it to a friend of a friend of a friend, and it made its way to you,” Lindsey told them.

“How did you know about,” John paused. He didn’t really want to give the demon that killed his wife and Jess, the one who tried to kill Evan and mark her son. “Azazel?”

“I was at the firm for a long time. I made some connections,” Lindsey intoned.

“Do you think that that is part of the reason that the firm is after us now?” Kit asked him. “Do they know that you gave her the ritual?”

“I doubt it. I didn’t get it from them. I found that while I was in Nepal,” he told her.

“What were you doing in Nepal?” Evan questioned him.

“I was “finding myself,” he replied with a rueful chuckle.

“Did you know about the Levalle emerald?” Dean asked Lindsey bluntly.

“I’d heard of it,” Lindsey replied. “But I don’t know what they would want with it.”

“It was cursed, that was enough,” Evan groused, sitting on the arm of couch.

“You may be right about that Darlin’” Lindsey said, catching the look Dean sent him when he called her by the nickname. “What was the curse?”

“The spirit of the last owner protected it, and stole peoples souls,” Sam said with a grimace.

“It stole souls?” Lindsey questioned, trying to work something out in his head. Why would the head of Wolfram and Hart want an emerald with a ghost protector that stole souls? It was something to consider.

“Yeah, it stole Sam’s. And it nearly got me when I went down to get it. But it couldn’t,” Evan explained.

“How did it not get yours?”

“I’m a lockbox,” Evan grinned and showed him the marks on her wrists. “There’s a UV tattoo of a Devils Trap over them. Keeps me from getting possessed again.”

“You were possessed?” Lindsey looked at Dean in anger. He was supposed to protect her.

“Yeah, once. Okay twice,” she looked sheepishly at him. “Three times,” Evan explained to him what had happened. “But I wouldn’t really say that Nana was a possession. It was more of a,” she paused, searching for the right word. “Temporary re-homing.”

“That was a good idea,” Lindsey replied in amazement. Hearing how she had been possessed by the demon who’d tried to get her to kill herself, and by the Bathory demon, he wondered how she kept going, kept hunting. “Before I leave, there’s some protection glyphs I can give you. It will keep you safe. All of you,” he added.

“And about that leaving part, when will that be?” Dean asked him.

“Dean!” Evan snapped. “He just came back from the dead. Again. And he’s injured. He can’t leave until he’s healed.”

“It’s okay Darlin’,” Lindsey began, pushing himself up from the couch. “I did what I came to do.” Taking a step, he realized that maybe it wasn’t the best move. Pain flared up his leg from his ankle and saw blackness waver before his eyes. He groaned as his leg crumpled beneath him and he started to fall.

“Lindsey!” Evan cried, jumping up to grab his shoulders. Sam lurched forward and grabbed his shoulders before he hit the ground. They settled him down on the couch and propped his ankle up on the coffee table. With gentle fingers, Evan probed the ankle, stopping when Lindsey sucked in a harsh breath and groaned. “How did this happen?”

“When I jumped out of the window of my apartment. Three floors up. I guess I landed wrong,” he said between clenched teeth as she moved his ankle gently.

“We should rewrap that ankle,” Kit said as she knelt by his foot and unwrapped the tensor bandage she had put on him earlier. She moved over to start wrapping it around his ankle again. “Let me know if it’s too tight,” she told him.

“He can’t go anywhere like this,” Evan said.

“Evan,” Dean began but she cut him off.

“Dean, like it or not, he’ staying until his ankle is better and those wounds heal. That Jacob person is still after him, and I’m not having his death on my conscience. I’ve got enough of that already,” she muttered as she pinned the bandage that Kit had finished wrapping in place.

“Darlin’,” Lindsey began, looking at the concern on her face as she inspected his ankle. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’re staying,” Evan said, closing the first aid kit with a little more force than was needed and stood up. “Kit, make sure Dean doesn’t kill him while I make dinner.” She gave Dean a dark look and walked out of the room.

“Evan,” Dean said, following her into the kitchen.

“I don’t want to hear it,” she said, opening the fridge and grabbing the ingredients for dinner. She then kicked the fridge door shut and walked over to the counter. Putting down the items, she turned and looked at him. “I am not sending him out there to get killed while he’s injured and someone from Wolfram and Hart is hunting him. That’s not what I do.”

“I don’t trust him,” Dean told her.

“Dean, he didn’t have to come and warn us. And he sure as hell didn’t have to get that ritual to us,” she reminded him.

Dean frowned. He was not liking this at all. His fiancée in the same proximity of her ex-lover. “I don’t like this.”

Evan put down the knife that she was holding and walked up to him, putting her hand on his cheek. “Dean, I love you. Yes, Lindsey and I were together. But I walked away when he wouldn’t leave the firm.”

“He did leave them though,” he said softly.

“I give up!” She cried, throwing up her hands. She turned back to the counter and began cutting some vegetables. “Go turn on the barbecue. I’m done talking about this.”

With a growl, Dean dug in the drawer for the lighter and went out the back door, slamming it behind him.


	14. Thirteen

“So, the hunting trip where we met you,” John started when he heard the back door close. “What were you doing there?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I was there to bring a demon back to Wolfram and Hart,” he told them honestly.

“So, it was a hunting ground?” Sam asked.

“No, it was more of a lair for one particular demon. They wanted him brought to them. Seems he killed one of the Senior Partners daughters. I couldn’t let you kill it. So, I used some creative spell work to hide the truth,” he explained. “Rest assured, it’s dead and no way it’s coming back.”

“How did you get tied up with a firm like that?” Kit asked him softly. “And how did Evan not know for so long?”

“It’s a long and complicated story Kit,” he told her honestly. “As for Evan, the firm wanted her to come work for them. That’s why they gave her the internship. They wanted to see what side she would come down on. Having the granddaughter of a Death Reaper like Catherine Rennie was a feather in their cap. The same kind of spell that I used on John and Dean to hide the demon lair was used on her. She didn’t see it, at first because she didn’t want to. But then it began to bleed into her consciousness and she saw the truth. She was just coming into her awareness of demons, so it was easy for her to pick up on it. And she chose the side they didn’t want her on.”

Dean came back into the living room at the end of his answer. “So, you tricked her,” he said disgustedly, shaking his head.

“The firm tricked her. I simply stuck to “Lawyer Client privilege,” he replied. “Look, when Evan realized what the firm did, she dumped my ass and moved out.”

“You lived together?” Kit exclaimed. That, she didn’t know about.

“This just keeps getting better and better,” Dean muttered.

“I called Angie and asked her to keep the kids tonight,” Evan said as she came back into the living room. “She’s going to bring them home tomorrow.”

“That’s a good idea. We’ve got a lot to discuss tonight,” Kit replied, looking towards her sister. She took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll come help you. Dean, you tend the barbecue, John and Sam can keep an eye on Lindsey,” she said, taking charge.

“Don’t let Dean cook, he’ll burn it,” she said absently, turning away.

“I’ve gotten better,” he groused, looking at her and Evan suddenly felt bad.

“I’m sorry,” she replied, “you have. No burnt offerings in a while now,” she smiled at him gently. She felt something lighten in her when Dean gave her a small smile back. “Hoist him up,” Evan said to John and Sam, Dean following her back into the kitchen.

“I can get myself up,” Lindsey told John and Sam. He put his foot down on the floor and pushed himself up. With the tensor bandage around his ankle, he was able to put some weight on it. He limped around the coffee table and made his way slowly to the kitchen. _Why couldn’t the reawakening fix all injuries instantly?_  he groused to himself as he limped along, holding himself carefully so as not to pull the stitches and jostle his insides as they healed.

“Be careful going down the steps,” Kit warned him, as he headed out the door, John and Sam following behind carrying the plates and utensils. Evan and Kit grabbed everything else and came out with them. Giving the steaks to Dean, Evan put out the rest of the food while Kit set the table. Running back inside, Kit came out with beers for everyone, and a glass of iced decaf tea for her.

“Congratulations,” Lindsey said to Kit softly. “I saw the baby bump this morning when I was watching the house.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” Kit said, laughing. “Thank you,” she nodded to him, taking a sip of her drink. She sat down while Sam and Dean took over the Barbecue and cooked.

“Baby number two?”

“Yeah. Our little sister Angie is taking care of the boys for us tonight,” Kit explained.

“The boys?” He questioned, a little confused.

“My son Jimmy and JD,” Kit replied, then looked at Evan.

Evan watched his face as she said, “JD is my son. And Dean's.”

Lindsey looked at Evan, his eyes wide. Something he didn’t want to examine shot through him. She had moved on, started a family. The future that Lorne had told him about had come true, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. “I didn’t know you had a son. Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” she said softly, sadness tinging her words.

“How did you know she was trying to find something that would kill Azazel?” John asked him, he looked between the two.

“I,” he paused, shaking his head. “I knew she would need it to fight him. That in some way she had been marked for death,” He saw the confusion on their faces and knew he was going to have to face the truth. He looked at Evan. “That night we were in Caritas,” he began. “After I sang for Lorne.”

“Sang for him?” Dean interrupted.

“Lorne was an empath demon,” Evan told him. “Sing for him and he could see your future,” she turned back to Lindsey. “I didn’t sing for him; how could he know?”

“Because of the ritual. He told me to find it, that it would play a part in your future. That if I didn’t, you’d die,” Lindsey told her, his voice tight. He didn’t tell her that he had fought what he’d been told, tried to make the future that he wanted. That he had hoped, deep down, that he would be the one to save her. But then Evan had learned the truth and she had left him.

“Azazel came after JD when he was six months old,” Kit told Lindsey. “He almost burned her to death. And said that he would be back for Jimmy.”

“How did you cross paths with him?” Lindsey asked them, taking a long swallow of his beer.

“He killed my mother. And marked Sam when he was six months old,” Dean told him. He came over to Evan and took her hand, holding it gently.

“I’m sorry,” Lindsey said to John, Sam and Dean. “I truly am.”

“Well he’s dead now,” Dean said gruffly, turning back to the barbecue and flipping the steaks over.

Lindsey settled back in his chair and sipped his beer as he watched Evan and Dean finish cooking dinner. Sam and Kit set the table. And John fetched some forgotten items from the kitchen. He dug into the steak hungrily, realizing that it was the first real food he’d eaten in two days. He’d only stopped long enough to gas up and grab snacks while on the road.

“And then Dean decides he’s going to kidnap Evan, you should have seen my father,” Kit said a short time later after they had finished eating, relaxing in the back yard having a couple of beers. “He was pissed.”

Lindsey found himself laughing at the look on Dean’s face. “He must have gotten over it since you’re still alive,” he chuckled.

“It wasn’t an easy time,” Dean admitted, sipping his beer.

“Kit, wanna help me clear up?” Sam asked. “And then I have to go study. Caravatti sprung a quiz on us tomorrow.”

“Peter Caravatti?” Lindsey asked him.

“Yeah. He’s my professor at Stanford,” Sam told him. “He worked to get Dean out of jail, and since then, he’s been busting my ass.”

“Take in everything he says,” Lindsey advised him. “He’s a damn good lawyer. I went against him a few times. On regular criminal cases,” He clarified when they looked at him in surprise.

“I should head out too,” John said. He put the coffee mug down on the table and rose to his feet. “I’ve got a client coming early in the morning to pick up his ‘Vette, and want to go in before he comes and give it one last polish.”

“Night Dad,” Sam said, picking up the mug and the plates and heading in side. Kit picked up the rest of the dishes and followed him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Dad,” Dean told him as he started to run the wire brush over the grill. “I’ll be in before the client to help you.”

“I’d say it was nice to meet you,” John said to Lindsey, “But it’s been confusing,” he finished honestly.

“It was good seeing you again John,” Lindsey replied sardonically.

As John and Lindsey spoke, Evan went over to Dean where he stood at the barbecue. She slid her arm around his back and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Are you going to be okay if I stay and talk to Lindsey?”

Dean tensed. He wasn’t sure he trusted the man enough to leave him alone with Evan. But he didn’t want to start another fight. He put the brush down and turned to look at her. He cupped his hands around the back of her neck and pushed her chin up with his thumbs. “I’ll be honest and say that I still don’t trust him,” he saw the look on her face. “But I trust you.” He leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips. He held it longer than he’d planned, not wanting to let her go.

“I’ll be up in a bit,” she assured him, giving him a loving smile.

“Call me when you’re coming up and I’ll help you with getting him up the stairs,” he told her.

“That shouldn’t be too much trouble. I made up the pull-out couch in the study earlier. He can stay in there.” She looked at him and saw the lingering doubt in his eyes. “Dean, I meant it earlier. I can’t send him out there with them on his ass.”

“I know Baby,” he said softly, hugging her shoulder. “I’ll see you when you come up.” To Lindsey he said, “Behave yourself,” and then turned to walk up the stairs and into the house.

“Would you like another beer?” Evan asked him as she took his empty bottle.

“I wouldn’t turn it down,” he smiled at her.

Evan went into the kitchen and returned moments later with a couple of beers for them. While she was inside, Lindsey had carefully moved himself into a different chair, making himself comfortable. He took the beer from her and twisted off the cap. Evan sat down on the chair beside him, taking a swig from her beer.

“I’m sorry about barging back into your life,” he said softly, looking out over the back yard. Fireflies passed by them, and darted around the trees, their luminescent bodies flickering as they flew through the air.

“When I called Wolfram and Hart, and they told me you were dead, I,” she paused, her throat tightened, and she shook her head. “I thought about all the times I’d wanted to call you. Just to hear your voice,” she admitted her voice catching as tears stung her eyes.

“Evan, darlin’,” Lindsey took the beer from her hand, and set it on the seat of the picnic table along with his and took her hands in his. “Lorne was right. As much as I hate that he was. We were on different roads. When I first left the firm, I wanted to find you. But I’d done too much. There was too much blood on my hands for me to come back to you. And I had to put some things right, come clean with myself.”

“What happened Lindsey,” she asked softly.

“Well,” he began, grabbing their beers and giving hers back to her. He took a sip and held up his hand. “I lost my hand.”

“What?!” She exclaimed, taking his hand in hers, turning it in the light and seeing the faint scar around his wrist.

“Wolfram and Hart fixed it,” he said with a chuckle. Taking another sip of his beer, Lindsey told her the events that led up to his death. “When I reawakened, Lorne was gone, dropped off the face of the earth. I can only assume the rest of them died fighting the demons that would have been set upon them for killing the Arch Duke.”

“But if you were helping them, then why would Lorne shoot you?” Evan questioned.

“Guess he saw more in my future than he told me,” Lindsey surmised. “He said I wasn’t part of the solution.”

“This whole Immortal thing,” she said, confusion in her voice. “How?”

Lindsey paused, trying to think of the best way to explain it. “Within some people, Immortals, there is a seed. A seed of immortality. When we experience what we call First Death. It is a death of non-natural means that sparks the seed and brings us back.”

“So you have to die to become Immortal?” Evan asked.

“Exactly,” he chuckled. “I’m not supposed to be telling you this, and Duncan would kill me if he knew.”

“Duncan?”

“Duncan McLeod. When I first reawakened, I didn’t know what the hell was going on. He found me out, explained what I was. Mortals are not supposed to know about us.”

“I won’t say a word,” she assured him with a smile. “Is that why you went to work for them? The firm?”

“I didn’t even know what I was. But they may have. And they wanted to turn me evil. And they did for a while. But I came to my senses.”

“Lindsey, I’m just,” she stammered. “Trying to wrap my head around all this.”

“Welcome to my first six months,” he said ruefully. He looked at her, watched letting what he said to her sink in. “Evan, when I came back, I was told to cut all ties with my past. I moved to San Antonio, I became a bouncer in a club. But when Jacob mentioned you, I had to go against everything Duncan taught me. I couldn’t let you die. But I’m not staying long. As soon as my ankle is better, I have to leave. If I stay, it’s going to bring danger to you.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, my life is a constant string of danger,” she groused.

“Not like this Evan. There’s another Immortal, an evil Immortal named Drogue. He’s hunting us down. The longer I stay, he may find me. And he will not care what happens to you or your family, but I will. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“We can help you,” Evan told him. She chuckled inwardly. Imagine the day that she would be offering to help Lindsey. The one that she had thought for years that she needed help from. Now to find out all of this. It was almost too much for her to comprehend.

“Yeah, that would go over real well with Dean,” Lindsey chuckled, taking a sip of his beer.

“If it means he can kill something evil, Dean’s all in,” Evan replied with a laugh.

“It would be against the rules. Only Immortals can fight each other. No mortal interference,” he told her.

“Are these rules written down somewhere. I’d like a copy of them in case I ever come across another Immortal.”

“They’re passed down orally from a Teacher. That’s the tradition.”

Evan sent him a raspberry and settled back in her chair, sipping her beer. She was surprised how easy it was to relax around Lindsey. The familiarity was still there, despite all that had happened between them, and the time that had passed.

“Was there anyone special after I left?” Evan asked him quietly, watching his face from under her lashes. Her heart tightened at the thought and she wished that she had never asked.

“No one like you,” Lindsey answered softly. He looked at her, watched the way she ducked her head down to examine the beer bottle. “There was a woman named Darla. But there were problems,” he said sardonically. “She was a vampire.”

“A vampire?” Evan looked at him in amazement.

“Yeah. She was Angels maker, she died, and was brought back. When she came back, she was human. She became a vampire again, had a baby and then she staked herself,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Well,” Evan said slowly. “A vampire?” He’d fallen for a vampire, of all things.

“Yeah,” he chuckled.

Evan blinked slowly as she made a show of looking at the bottle in her hands. She had thought that she would be happy that he had moved on, but part of her was jealous. Leaning over to her, Lindsey took her cheek in his fingers and made her look up at him.

“Darlin’,” there was a soft not in his voice as he looked at her. “What I had with her was nothing like what there was with us.”

“I shouldn’t care,” Evan told him, ashamed with herself. “I have no right to care, I’m the one that walked away.”

“It's female pride,” he chuckled softly, his fingers still holding her chin. “You all want to be “the one who got away” to a man. And you are,” he told her. His thumb brushed lightly along her bottom lip. “You’re the one that got away.”

“Lindsey,” she said, her voice a whisper. She could feel the warmth of his thumb over her lip, and sent a shiver down through her. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked up at him. His eyes darkened as they traced over her face. Lindsey swallowed roughly. He knew he should let go, move away from her but he found himself fighting within himself. The kiss he’d taken from her this morning was just not enough. He leaned closer.

“I can’t,” Evan forced herself to say softly, tugging her chin from his fingers slowly. She leaned back in her chair and gripped her beer tightly, making herself stare down at it. Her pulse jumped erratically, and her breathing was shaky.

“I know,” Lindsey replied softly, a shaft of disappointment filling him. This was not what he came here to do. He truly hadn’t come here to cause problems for her. As soon as his ankle was healed, he knew he’d have to move on. She was happy in the life she had. And he couldn’t do for her what Dean could. He couldn’t add the family that she had started. He leaned back, taking a long swig of his beer, trying to drown out the heat that was burning through his body. “So, the white hair?”

Evan chuckled. She felt the tension within her dissipate. “Hold over from my most recent possession,” she tugged at her white bangs self-consciously.

“I don’t know about you Darlin’, but it’s been a long couple of days for me, I think I should call it a night,” he told her, pushing himself up out of the chair. He tested his weight on his ankle and although it still shot pain through him, he took a step.

“Let me help you,” Evan said as she rose quickly and put his arm over her shoulder.

Lindsey knew that he could make it to the steps by himself, but he was greedy. Feeling Evan against him as she helped him up the stairs. He held her a little tighter, still not wanting to let her go as they made their way in the house and she took him to the study.

Evan stood at the door and watched as he settled himself on the pull-out couch. Despite herself, she gripped the door frame as she watched him pull his tattered shirt off. She watched the way his muscles worked beneath his skin and found herself holding her breath.

“I’ll take a look through some of my grandpa’s old clothes in the attic to see if we have anything that might fit you,” she said softly.

“I’d appreciate that Evan, thank you,” Lindsey said softly as he looked at her. “You better get upstairs,” before I ask you to stay, he wanted to add. But Evan nodded and turned away.

“See you in the morning,” she said and then slid the study door shut. She leaned briefly against the door, breathing roughly. The next few days was not going to be easy, she thought before climbing the stairs.

In her bedroom, she closed the door softly and moved to her side of the bed. Stripping off her clothes, she climbed into bed beside Dean. His arm slid around her waist and he pulled her close.

“Did you get him settled?” He asked her sleepily, his breath washing over her ear.

“Yes,” she said roughly, settling herself down and pulling his arm closer around her. She closed her eyes, tried to quiet her mind to let her sleep, but she couldn’t. Memories flashed through her mind.


	15. Fourteen

_Evan looked at the paper in her hand, then looked up at the shelf in front of her.  She squinted in the dim light and looked at the numbers on the large file boxes.  Finding the one that she was looking for, she pulled it down, nearly dropping it as the weight of the box pulled at her arms.  She tried hefted it on to her hip as she struggled to open the door._

_“Oh, come on,” she muttered as she stuck her foot through the door opening, trying to pull it open as the box slipped from her hip.  Catching it before it fell, she paused to catch her breath and pulled the door open enough to wedge her shoulder through.  Squeezing out through the door, she adjusted the box in her arms again, trying to read the paper._

_“This place needs a map,” she said aloud in the empty hallway, looking at the names on the doors.  She’d been there a week, you’d think she would know her way around.  The law firm, Wolfram and Hart, however was huge.  She’d already gotten lost twice, one of those times causing her to be late for a meeting with Lilah Morgan, one of the Junior Lawyers she had been assigned to work with.  And Lilah had been pissed._

_Turning in the hallway, she tried to picture where she was going, but the sheer size of the place confused her.  Looking at the paper again, she frowned.  Walking up the hall, she looked at the doors, not paying attention to where she was going.  As she turned the corner, she saw a brief flare of bright blue eyes before she walked into the man who had been coming around at the same time._

_“Watch -“ the man started before the file box stuck him in the chest and Evan cried in surprise, dropping the box.  The contents clanked together as the box hit the floor._

_“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” she said quickly, putting her hand on the man’s arm as he reached to steady her._

_“You okay, Darlin’?” The man asked her, his voice soft with a slow, lazy drawl._

_“I’m sorry,” she said again, looking at him.  The bright blue eyes looked at her with some concern.  She felt his hands on her arms, felt a flare of heat run through her.  Looking up, she saw the smile on his face.  She tried to steady herself, and slow her breathing, but it was hard.  The handsome face before her was kind of disconcerting._

_“It’s okay.  Are you alright?”  He asked her, bending down to pick up the heavy box._

_“Yes,” she flushed.  “Are you?  You caught that box right in the chest,” she tried to chuckle, but it came out weakly._

_“You’re new here, aren’t you?”  He asked her, gripping the box easily, looking over her._

_“Yes, Sir, I’ve been here a week,” she replied.  She took in the tailored suit and the stylish haircut.  “My names Evan.”_

_“Nice to meet you Evan,” he said softly, then put the box on his hip and held out his hand.  “My name’s Lindsey.”_

_She took his hand and shook it.  She glanced at the paper in her hand.  “Lindsey McDonald?”_

_“That’s me,” he drawled._

_“That’s yours.  I was just bringing it to you,” she said pointing to the box, then cringed inwardly at how stupid she sounded._

_He smiled.  “Well considered it delivered.”_

_“Evan!” Lilah Morgan stepped out of her office and frowned at the two as they stood there.  She walked over, her high heels making her tower over Evan.  “Where have you been?  I asked for the Parker file over an hour ago.”_

_Evan looked at her in dismay.  She had brought her the file she’d requested as soon as she’d been asked to.  When she had gotten back to her desk, she had found the request for this box.  “It’s on your desk.” She replied, hating the quiver in her voice.  No doubt about it, this woman gave her the heebie jeebies._

_“It’s not there,” Lilah snapped at her, frowning that Evan had talked back to her._

_“Lilah, I’m sorry, I asked Evan to bring me the case file for the McLaughlin case,” Lindsey interjected softly.  He gave Lilah a look that Evan suddenly wished she could master.  “I’ll have her back to you in a few minutes.”_

_“Get your own intern,” Lilah said coldly, and then gave him a saccharine smile.  To Evan she said, “My office, now.”  She then turned and walked towards her office, expecting Evan to follow her._

_“Yes Ms. Morgan,” Evan complied, and then turned away from Lindsey.  As she followed Lilah back to her office, Evan looked back at Lindsey and gave him a small smile when she saw that he was watching her._

_“I’ll see you soon Darlin’,” Lindsey said with a wink and then turned and walked away.  Evan smiled and went into Lilah’s office.  The uneasiness that the woman usually instilled in her was diminished as she thought about Lindsey’s smile, and his bright blue eyes._

_**_

_“Hello again Ms. Evan,” Lindsey said softly as he came up to her desk.  He sat on the edge and smiled down at her._

_“Mr. McDonald,” Evan said quickly putting down the sandwich that she had just pulled out of the ziplock bag.  She flushed when she caught the blue eyes looking down at her lunch and he frowned.  “Sorry,” she said, quickly tucking it away.  “First chance I’ve had to eat lunch.”_

_Lindsey looked at his watch.  “It’s dinner time,” he reminded her._

_“It’s been a busy day,” she replied.  Lilah had been sent out of town on an assignment by the Senior Partners and had left a list of things for Evan to do by the time she came back.  She had worked her way through half the list, including the additional things that Lilah had emailed her through the day.  She thought that she would stay late to be able to cross a few more things off the list._

_“Well, it’s dinner time.  Join me?” Lindsey asked her, taking one of the baby carrots she had packed and bit into it slowly, watching her face._

_Evan swallowed as she watched him.  In the three weeks since she had met him, she hadn’t seen him much.  Lilah had taken it upon herself to keep her too busy to have a chance to even say Hello to him._

_She wanted to say yes, and when he looked at her, she really wanted to say yes.  But she couldn’t afford to cause any problems with Lilah, and she had the feeling that if Lilah knew she’d gone to dinner with Lindsey, she’d be worked to the bone in retaliation.  She got the distinct feeling that Lilah did not like Lindsey._

_Lindsey leaned closer to her, a daring look on his face.  Evan’s pulse shot up.  She could smell the cologne that clung to his skin, could see the look in his eyes.  “Lilah’s gone for a few days.  She won’t know,” he whispered.  He rose from her desk and held his hand out to her.  “Come on Darlin’.”_

_Evan bit her bottom lip in hesitation.  Looking up at him, she saw the coaxing look in her eye.  He came around her desk and picked up her jacket from the back of her chair and folded it over his arm.  Evan smiled and quickly packed up her lunch.  Grabbing her purse, she came around her desk and stopped before him, taking a breath and smiling at him._

_“Good girl,” he said softly and put his hand at the small of her back and guiding her out the door._

_**_

_“You’re so lucky,” she breathed as she looked out the window of his apartment.  “The view is gorgeous.”  Evan looked out over Los Angeles.  The lights from the cars crowding the street.  In the distance, she could see the spotlights moving across the sky, streaming to the heavens and thought that it might be a movie premiere._

_“Yes, it is,” he said, but when Evan turned to glance at him, finding him watching her.  She bit her lower lip nervously as he came over to her.  He handed her a tumbler of whiskey and she took a sip to calm the nervous twisting in the pit of her stomach._

_“You’re contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” she teased, taking another sip._

_“I won’t tell anyone,” he drawled, taking a sip of his own whiskey and watching her.  “And you’re in a private residence so they can’t do anything anyway,” he smiled._

_Taking the drink that he’d given her, she looked around the apartment.  It was larger than she had expected.  There was a large balcony outside the sliding glass window.  One wall was dominated by a large dark wood book shelf filled with old leather-bound books, tribal masks and other oddities.  The opposite wall was filled with different weapons.  She walked over to it and reached up to touch her finger to the blade of a sword._

_“Be careful, that’s sharp,” Lindsey said, coming to stand behind her.  He took a sip of his whiskey, watching her._

_“It’s beautiful,” she said, looking at the hilt and trying to decipher the markings on it._

_“It belonged to an English Noble in the 1700’s,” he told her.  Setting his drink down on the stand holding an old-fashioned battle helmet, he took it down from the wall and gave it to her.  Evan held it tightly, lifted the blade and swung it idly.  Lindsey came up behind her and took her glass, setting it beside his.  He held her wrist, the sword pointing out.  Laying his hand on her shoulder, he pulled her shoulders up slightly to straighten her posture, then slid his hand down her arm to lightly hold her other wrist out to her side.  His foot slid between her ankles and tugged one of her feet back._

_“Hold the hilt tight,” he whispered in her ear and she gripped tighter.  Using his hand to guide hers, he moved her hand, swinging the sword.  She let him move her arm, feeling his breath against the side of her neck as he spoke.  “Let yourself feel the weight of the blade as it moves through the air.”_

_“I used to watch old swashbuckler movies over and over again,” she told him, her voice thick in her throat.  “I would take the fireplace poker and pretend it was a sword.  I’d beat on the couch pillows and the tree’s outside,” she said and then stopped, realizing that her nerves were causing her to ramble._

_“Maybe I’ll teach you,” he whispered, taking the sword from her hand and putting it back up on the wall, he turned and smiled at her.  Evan felt a shiver run through her._

_What is wrong with you? She asked herself.  There’s no reason to be nervous.  She’d been out with Lindsey five times already and he had never done anything to make her nervous.  They’d gone out for dinner, they’d even gone to the movies, and they’d gone out to a couple of clubs, each time having a nice evening, and then he had always walked her to her door, said goodnight and made sure she got inside before he’d left.  She’d see him at work, most times when she was with Lilah, and he’d send her a wink behind the other woman’s back and she’d had to fight not to smile._

_“I promised you a fantastic dessert,” he reminded her, taking her hand and tugging her playfully towards the kitchen.  They’d had to duck out of the restaurant just before they’d ordered desert because Evan had seen Lilah arriving with her date de jour._

_“That you did,” Evan said, following him, smiling._

_“Have a seat, you’re going to see a culinary genius at work,” he informed her. Helped her up onto the barstool at the island in the center of the kitchen and then went to the fridge.  “No peeking,” he warned her as he opened the fridge, looking over his shoulder to make sure that she couldn’t see.  She covered her eyes with one hand playfully peeking between her fingers, laughing as he reached over and closed her fingers._

_A few minutes later, he set a dish down in front of her.  “Voila!” he said with a flourish._

_Evan moved her hand from her eyes and looked down at the plate.  She looked up at him and laughed.  “Brownies and ice cream?”_

_“It’s not just brownies and ice cream,” Lindsey said with mock offence.  “This is the most decadent brownie you’ll ever taste.  It is topped with Rocky road ice-cream and whipped cream.  The best dessert ever,” he told her, grabbing a spoon from the drawer.  He cut into the treat, taking a spoonful and holding it out to her.  “It will change your life,” he coaxed her._

_Evan stifled her laugh and smiled at him.  “It better,” she teased.  Looking at him, she took the bite he held out for her.  “Cold, it’s cold,” she said a moment later, trying not to laugh as her teeth froze.  Lindsey grinned at her and took a scoop of the dessert, watching her._

_“Well, I wouldn’t say it was life altering,” she said as she swallowed, “but that brownie is really good.”  She chuckled as he dug into the bowl again and gave her another bite.  Lindsey watched her as she chewed.  Evan looked at him, seeing his eyes darken.  “What?”_

_“I have to tell you something,” he said, his voice low as he came around to stand beside her._

_She swallowed roughly, “And what’s that?”_

_“I knew Lilah was going to be at the restaurant tonight.  I looked at her schedule when I was in her office yesterday” he told her unabashedly.  “I wanted a reason to duck out.”_

_“Why?” She asked.  As she watched him come over to her, her nerves jumped.  She bit her bottom lip lightly._

_Lindsey brought his hand up to her cheek, looking down at her, his eyes darkening.  He ran the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip, tugging it free of her teeth.  She breathed shakily as he used his thumb to gently push up her chin.  Leaning down, he kissed her softly, his mouth moving over her lips.  When he pulled his head back slightly, Evan touched her fingertips to her lips, they shook slightly.  Watching her face, the way her eyes darkened as she looked at him.  Sliding his hand around the back of her neck, Lindsey tugged her closer, kissing her again._

_Evan made a small noise, her hands sliding her hand up chest and she gripped his shoulder.  She pushed herself up into his kiss, her hand curling over his shoulder, pulling him closer.  Lindsey curled his arm around her waist and pulled her off the barstool into his arms.  They curled around her waist as he pulled her against his body.  Winding her arms around his shoulders, Evan pressed against him, her mouth opening beneath his.  She could taste the whiskey and ice cream, feel the warmth of him against her._

_Pulling his mouth from hers, Lindsey smiled at her.  “That’s why,” he said as he took her mouth again.  His tongue traced along her lips and pushed in between them.  Evan held him tighter, sliding her tongue around his.  Shifting his grip on her, Lindsey swung her up into his arms, Evan squealed and pulled her mouth free of his.  Walking over to the couch, Lindsey sank down into it, settling her on his lap._

_“Lilah will kill us if she ever finds out about this,” Evan said, her voice husky, her breath heavy._

_Lindsey moved his hand, pushing her hair over her ear, his mouth moving from hers, his lips brushing over her ear.  “Don’t worry about her,” he whispered, kissing her neck._

_Evan let out a soft breath as his teeth scraped the sensitive skin, he nipped gently, the suckled the skin.  A soft moan escaped her lips as his mouth moved over her neck, his hand slid into her hair, gripping it and tugging it lightly and her moan grew louder.  Her body grew tense and she could feel herself grow warmer.  A shudder ran through her and she could feel a tingling growing between her legs._

_“Lindsey,” she moaned softly._

_“Tell me what you want Evan,” he growled in her ear._

_Evan tried to speak, but she couldn’t.  She turned on the couch, straddling his lap.  Leaning down, she cupped his cheek, kissing him harder.  One hand slid down her back, cupping her ass and pulling her against him.  Evan moaned into his mouth when she felt hard length of him press between her legs.  His other hand moved up between them, he cupped one breast, his thumb rubbing slowly over her hardening nipple.  She broke from his mouth, looking down at him, his eyes had darkened.  He continued to rub her nipple, her breath grew raspy, her hips rocking against him._

_“Lindsey,” she groaned again, whimpering when Lindsey lightly pinched her nipple._

_“Tell me Evan,” he said, pressing his mouth against her neck.  He groaned as she pressed her hips down against him.  “Tell me,” he ordered softly, pinching harder._

_Evan was suddenly overwhelmed.  Her head was spinning, the feel of him hard against her, his fingers pinching and teasing her nipple.  The tingling between her legs grew unbearable, her breath caught in her throat.  She was spinning out of control._

_She pulled back from him, looking down at him, “I’ve never,” she began, feeling a wave of embarrassment fill her.  She closed her eyes and looked away._

_“You’ve never been with a man?”  He asked her, cupping her cheek and turning her to look at him.  “Evan?”_

_“No,” she said, tears stinging her eyes.  “I haven’t.  I’m sorry,” she whispered._

_Lindsey cupped the back of her head and brought her mouth down to his.  He kissed her softly.  “You have nothing to be sorry about,” he said as he pulled his mouth away.  He curled his arms around her waist and held her close, kissing her softly.  He was just deepening the kiss when the shrill scream of his phone pierced the air, pulling them apart._

_“Oh Jesus,” Lindsey growled.  He gave her another soft kiss and then reached for the jacket that he had thrown over the back of the couch earlier.  He curled his hand over her hip, pulling her back when she started to move off his lap.  “What?” he snapped into the phone.  He listened.  “Can’t you handle it Lilah?”  Evan covered her mouth, stifling the gasp that rose to her lips.  “Yeah, I’ll come,” he snarled and snapped the phone closed and tossed it onto the couch beside them.  He looked up at Evan sadly.  He tugged her mouth down to his, kissing her softly.  “Duty calls,” he told her when he pulled his mouth away.  “I’m sorry,” he said softly._

_“It’s okay,” she said softly, moving to get off his lap._

_Lindsey pulled her back and gave her another kiss.  When he let her go a few minutes later, he pressed his mouth against her ear, “This will be continued.”_

_Evan rose from his lap, her legs a little shaky.  She steadied herself as Lindsey rose from the couch and grabbed his phone.  He walked into the kitchen, dumping the remains of the forgotten dessert in the trash and rinsed the bowl, setting it in the sink.  Walking back over to her, he dropped another kiss on her lips._

_“I’ll drive you home,” he said softly and then grabbed his suit coat.  Evan grabbed her purse and followed him out of the apartment.  As they headed down to his car, Lindsey curled his fingers into hers._

 

~*~

_“You bastard!  You lied to me!” Evan’s voice rang out._

 

Evan jerked awake, her voice ringing in her ears.  _No, she did not want to remember that part_ , she breathed sharply, her heart beating in her chest.  _Please, not that part._ She clenched her eyes closed, forcing aside the painful memory of the fight with Lindsey that had ended them and drove her to leave LA.

 

She opened her eyes when the bed beside her moved.  She turned her head to look at the clock.  She felt like she’d just fallen asleep.  Pushing herself up and pushing her hair out of her eyes, she looked around at Dean as he scrubbed his hands through his hair.  He looked back at her, a smile playing across his lips.

 

“Morning Princess,” he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her mouth. 

 

“Morning,” she said softly when he pulled away.  She sat up straighter, pulling her legs up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her shins.

 

“I’ll drop Sammy off at the train before going in,” he told her as he walked around to the bed to the bathroom.

 

“Okay,” she said softly, watching him.

 

“You okay?” He asked her, coming back to stand by the bed, he brushed her hair over her ear.

 

Evan nodded.  She shifted on the bed, rising on her knees and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, leaning into him, kissing him.  Dean curled his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him.  He deepened the kiss, groaning into her mouth.  His hands skimmed over her hips and around her ass, pulling her tighter against him.  Her heart beat heavy against her chest, her blood pounded in her ears.  Dean pushed her back onto the bed, crawling up between her legs and settling himself against her.  She wrapped her legs around his hips and ground herself against him.  He pulled her hands up above her head, pressing them into the bed, holding them there.

 

Pulling his mouth away from hers, Dean groaned.  “If I didn’t have to be in early to help Dad,” he trailed off, letting her imagine what he was going to say as he rocked his hips against her.

 

“I know baby,” she said and then kissed him quickly.  “Go take your shower.”

 

With a groan, Dean pushed himself up off the bed and went into the bathroom.  Evan got out of bed and pulled on her pajama bottoms and then left the bedroom.  She walked down the stairs.  She stopped at the bottom and looked at the study door.  Seeing it was open, she peeked her head around the corner and found the pull-out couch was put away and the room was empty.  A streak of panic went through her.  He’d left.

 

“Kit?” She called, turning towards the kitchen, hearing her sisters voice and thinking that she was talking to Sam.  “Kit! Lindsey’s gone!”  She slid to a stop in the kitchen doorway, looking in surprise as Lindsey turned from the stove, pan in hand.  Oh god she’d forgotten how the feeling of seeing him like that had always sent a streak of arousal through her.  And was again.

 

“Mornin’ Darlin,” he drawled, limping over to the table and slid some scrambled eggs onto Sam’s plate.  Kit waved her hand and shook her head when he moved to give her some, looking quite green.

 

Evan breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at him.  “Hi,” she said weakly.  She couldn’t understand how frightened she had been when she thought that he had gone.  “You don’t have to do this Lindsey.  You should be resting, you were dead yesterday.”

 

Setting the pan down on the stove, Lindsey pulled up his shirt that Kit had given him, showing her that the line of tiny stitches that she had done yesterday were almost healed.  “We heal quick,” he assured her, pulling the shirt down.

 

“I see,” Evan said.  She walked over to the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee, trying to push aside the quiver that ran through her at the sight of his bare chest.  She sat down at the table beside Kit.  She avoided her sisters gaze as Kit took in the flush that stained her cheeks.

 

Dean came into the kitchen and looked at Lindsey.  “You’re looking better,” he said shortly.  He poured himself some coffee and sat down at the table beside Evan.

 

“Outside yeah, insides are still healing,” Lindsey told him, putting a plate in front of him.  Dean looked down at the plate, made a face and dug in.

 

“Eat quick Dean, I have to get to the train,” Sam advised him, finishing up his own breakfast.

 

“Got it Sammy,” Dean said, eating quickly.  He finished his coffee and then picked up the plate and cup and took them over to the sink.  He turned to Lindsey.  “Thanks,” he said simply.

 

“No problem,” Lindsey said.

 

“Let’s go Sammy,” Dean said and walked out of the kitchen.  Evan followed him out.  At the front door, Dean grabbed his jacket from the tree beside the door and slid into it.  Evan reached up and smoothed out his collar.  She rose up on her tip toes and gave him a soft kiss.

 

“Have a good day Dear,” she grinned at him.  Dean cupped his hands around her cheeks and held her still, kissing her deeply.

 

“You behave yourself,” he said, pulling his head back.  When Evan frowned at him and he saw her eyes darken, he said quickly.  “I didn’t mean it like that.  Just be careful.  I still don’t trust him,” Dean told her.

 

“I know you don’t,” Evan said softly.  “But I do.”

 

“And that’s the only reason I haven’t thrown him out on his ass,” Dean’s voice was low.  He looked up the hall towards the kitchen.  “Did he teach you to do that little trick you do?” He whispered in her ear.

 

Evan blushed.  “Um, no.  That was Lincoln,” she whispered.

 

“You’re going to have to tell me about this Lincoln,” he told her, frowning.

 

“Darlin’ if you didn’t like hearing about Lindsey, you are definitely not going like hearing about Lincoln,” Evan told him bluntly.

 

Dean frowned at the nickname.  “When this is over, you’re telling me.  The good and the bad.”  Shaking his head, Dean looked back to the kitchen.  “Sammy, shake a leg!”

 

Sam came out of the kitchen, then paused to turn and give Kit a soft kiss.  “I’ll see you tonight,” he told her and followed Dean out the front door.  Once the door had shut behind him, Kit went back into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of the left-over bacon.  She sat down at the kitchen table with Lindsey who was sipping a coffee while he ate slowly.

 

“So,” Kit began, finishing the bacon and looking at Lindsey.  She took in his shoulder length hair, the bit of scruff on his face.  His bright blue eyes looked back at her, his mouth cocked in a smirk.  “What was Evan like in L.A?” She asked him.

 

“Don’t answer that,” Evan said to Lindsey as she walked into the kitchen.  “You’re too nosey for your own good, Sis.”  She advised as she walked over to the coffee pot and refilled her mug.  She reached for the sugar bowl and frowned when it slid out of her way.

 

“She thinks Evan uses too much sugar,” Kit told Lindsey when he looked at the sugar bowl as it moved further out of Evans reach when she tried to grab it again.

 

“We’ve had this discussion about the coffee Nana,” Evan growled, looking around and then quickly dunked the spoon into the bowl when it stopped and dumped it into her coffee.  Stirring some milk into it, Evan tossed the spoon into the sink and then turned around to lean against the counter, sipping her coffee.  “You keep an eye on him, I’m going to go get dressed,” she said, pushing herself off of the counter, she walked out of the kitchen.

 

Kit waited until she heard Evan start up the stairs, pulled her chair closer and leaned towards Lindsey, whispering, “So, what was she like?”

 

‘Don’t answer that!” Evan called from the top of the stairs.  Kit pulled a face and looked at Lindsey who chuckled.

 

Up in her bedroom, Evan stripped out of her pajamas and pulled on a pair of jeans.  Digging through her shirts she found a black T-shirt with Metallica written across the front.  Going into the bathroom she quickly brushed her teeth and after brushing her hair, she scraped it up into a pony tail.  Exiting the bathroom, she grabbed her mug from her dresser and took a sip.

 

“Yuck,” she grimaced as the coffee and toothpaste left her with a horrible taste.  She shrugged her shoulders and then took another sip.  Walking up the hall, she set her coffee down on the floor.  Turning, she looked up at the ceiling and put her hands on her hips, frowning.  Climbing carefully up onto the bannister, Evan jumped up to catch the cord to the drop-down stairs.  When she landed on the floor the stairs dropped down with a thump.

 

“You okay Sis?’  Kit called from the kitchen.

 

“I’m fine,” she replied, climbing up the stairs.  At the top, Evan flipped on the overhead light.  Once they had moved back into the house, they’d had all of her grandmother’s possessions brought out of storage and put into the attic.  Looking around, she searched through boxes and trunks, old dressers and an armoire for her grandfather’s old clothes.  He’d been about Lindsey’s height and she thought that Lindsey might be able to use them. 

 

She blew her bangs out of her eyes and looked around the attic.  Going over to another armoire she pulled open the door.  Sorting through the clothes hanging there she pushed them aside.  Glancing down a smile touched her lips.  Reaching inside, she brought out the battered leather case and sit it across a nearby chair.  Snapping the buckles opened she lifted the lid.  Her smile deepened as she ran her fingers over the guitar inside.  She had so many memories of watching her grandfather strumming the guitar, singing with Kit and herself when they were young.

 

Closing the lid, she snapped it shut and lifted it off the chair.  Climbing down the stairs she brought the guitar case with her.  At the bottom, she grabbed the stairs and pushed them up, folding them up until the trap door settled into the ceiling.  Picking up her coffee, which had grown cold, she headed down the stairs to the living room.

 

“Sorry Lindsey, I struck out with Grampa’s clothes,” she said as she walked in.

 

“Mom gave his and Nana’s clothes to goodwill years ago,” Kit said as she sipped her decaf coffee and sighed.  It just wasn’t the same.  She felt a soft tap on her shoulder and looked up around her.  “Sorry Nana, but you _were_ gone.  Besides you can’t wear clothes.”  She immediately felt a swat to the back of the head.

 

Evan gave Kit a smug look.  “Look what I found,” she said to her sister, laying the guitar case on the coffee table.  She snapped it open and showed them the guitar nestled inside.

 

“Oh my god, I haven’t seen that in years,” Kit breathed.  She smiled up at Evan.  “I remember Grampa singing to us,” she said.  “He even learned how to play a Metallica song to keep Evan interested in family sing alongs,” she laughed.

 

“Can I?” Lindsey asked and Evan nodded.  He reached in and carefully pulled out the guitar.  The light golden wood of the face of the guitar gleamed in the light.  The dark mahogany wood of the back and neck were polished to a high gleam.  “It’s a 1963 Fender, The King model,” he said, almost reverently.  He strummed his fingers across the strings carefully, they hummed beautifully.

 

Evan sat on the couch beside him as he moved his fingers over the strings.  He paused to tighten one of the knobs and then tried the string again.  She watched as he plucked the string again and smiled.  He looked up at her and began to move his fingers over the strings.  Evan felt the breath catch in her throat as she watched him.  An old memory flitted through her mind as she heard the song he started to play and a smile crossed her lips.

 

His voice was very low as he started to sing.  “Well I know they say all goods things, must come to some kind of ending, We were so damn good, I guess we never stood a chance,” He watched her as his fingers moved over the strings easily.  The low timber of his voice reached out in the sun, the drawl in his voice send shivers down her.  “Gonna find what you've been missin’, When that highway’s tired a listening’, You'll see I'm not that easy to forget.”  He winked at her.

 

“When a new moon shines through your window,” Evan’s own husky voice joined his.  “Or you hear a sad song on the radio, Then you don't know why you but just start to cry.”  She ignored the look on Kit’s face as she sang along with Lindsey.  “Or you’re driving round on a sunny day, And outta nowhere comes the pouring rain, Then a memory hits you right out of the blue, That's just me, Thinking of you.”

 

Kit watched her sister and Lindsey sing together.  Though she’d heard Evan sing along with the radio in the car as they’d driven down the highways, that had always been just little bursts of songs.  She hadn’t heard her sister really sing like this in years.  And their voices blended together well in a song that Kit had never heard before.

 

“I’m not gonna try to stop you,     Don't mean that I don't want too, If I know you, you've already made up your mind,” Lindsey sang softly.  “To go on and go with your re-believing, But a million miles between us, But you still feel me like I'm right there at your side,” Evan’s voice melded with his softly.

 

“When a new moon shines through your window, Or you hear a sad song on the radio, Then you don't know why you but just start to cry,” Lindsey sang louder, watching Evan.  “Or your driving round on a sunny day, And outta nowhere comes the pouring rain, Then a memory hits you right out of the blue,” Evan voice trailed away, and Lindsey’s dropped down, slowing.  “That's just me,

Thinking of you,” he ended slowly.

 

“Wow,” Kit breathed.  “That was a beautiful song,” she said to Lindsey sincerely.  “You two have sung together before.  Many times obviously.”  Kit looked at Evan and saw her wipe her eyes.  “I’ve never heard it before.”

 

“He wrote it,” Evan said softly, sniffing gently.  She looked away from him.

 

Lindsey put the guitar carefully back into the case and looked at Kit, “For Evan’s birthday I could have gotten her anything.  A pair of beautiful ruby or emerald earrings.  A gold watch.  Anything,” he told her.  “But all she wanted was a song.  I worked on it for weeks and then on her birthday, I left a bottle of champagne in her car for when she came out after work.  We took her car back to my apartment and then drove up the coast.  We stopped at that truck stop,” he looked at Evan and she smiled.

 

“The Coastal Fiddler,” she reminded him.

 

“That’s the one,” he chuckled.  “We grabbed some food, and when she was in the restroom, I got one of their pies, a lemon meringue.”

 

“Evan’s favorite,” Kit smiled.  She watched her sister, saw the memories play across her face.

 

“Exactly.  We hit the road again and found a little camp ground to spend the weekend.  We sat by the fire, under the stars.  Drank champagne and ate those greasy burgers.  I then put a candle in the pie and gave it to her.  And then I sang her that song,” he smiled.

 

Evan looked away from them and wiped her eyes.  Listening to him had brought back the memories of that night, and it made her heart clench in her chest.  They had spent that whole weekend away from everything, just the two of them, no phones, no work.  The nights had been filled with laughter, and love.  They’d gone fishing in the morning and she had failed miserably so she sat on the bank watching Lindsey as he stood knee deep in the water with a fishing line.  He’d snagged a fish, and when he’d been bringing it in, he’d fallen backwards into the water.  When Evan had come over to help him up, he’d pulled her into his lap in the water.  They’d laughed as they flopped around in the water.  When they’d gotten out of the water and into the tent, Lindsey had kissed her, and she had given herself over to him.

 

Six months later she had learned the truth behind Wolfram and Hart and had left Lindsey and Los Angeles behind.

 

“You should have gone to Nashville instead of becoming a lawyer,” Kit told him.  “With a voice like that, you could have been a star.”

 

“At the time, I had different priorities,” he told her honestly.  “And it just wasn’t in the cards for me.”

 

Evan sniffed and rose from the couch.  “Kit, I’m gonna go over to the mall and see if I can get Lindsey some jeans.  He can’t wear those, they’re disgusting.  And Sam and Deans would be way too big for him,” she said.

 

“I’m coming with you,” Kit said suddenly.  She needed to talk to Evan.

 

“We can’t leave Lindsey here by himself,” Evan said, frowning.  “We could call Mom and Dad to come over.”  She grimaced.  “No, no.  Bad idea.  I really don’t want to explain to Mom and Dad all, this,” she said, flailing her arms towards Lindsey. 

 

“Sis,” Kit crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her sister.

 

“And I can’t stay here with him,” Evan said, pondering.  Oh no, she couldn’t stay with him by herself.  Right now, she didn’t trust herself.

 

“Sis!” She said louder as Evan continued to mutter.  Evan stopped and looked at her.  “I think Lindsey can take care of himself.”

 

“Lindsey is sitting right here,” he said sardonically.  “I’ll be fine for an hour.”

 

“Someone should be with you, just in case,” Evan replied.

 

“Sis, we’ll be gone an hour.  We’ll leave him our phone numbers.  He’ll be fine.  You’re acting like a mother hen,” she exclaimed.  Going into the study, Kit grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.  She came back into the living room, writing on the pad.

 

“I had to slice him open!” Evan cried in defense.  “And while he’s healing, I’m responsible for him.  What if Jacob comes back?”

 

“You’re going to be gone for an hour,” Lindsey said.  “Besides, I can take care of myself.”

 

“And with that,” Kit said ripped off the piece of paper and handed it to Lindsey.  “That’s our cell numbers,” she told him, grabbing Evan’s arm and tugging her to the front door.  She grabbed their purses, the car keys and pushed her sister out the door. 

 

“Kit!” Evan broke free of Kit’s hands and grabbed her purse and keys.  “What is wrong with you?”

 

“We need to talk.  Without ears around.  Male or spectral,” Kit said, ushering her sister to the car.  She waited until Evan got in and started the car before climbing in herself.  As Evan backed out of the driveway, glanced back at the house.  She saw Lindsey standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Okay, speak,” Evan said as she threw the car into gear and made her way down the street.

 

“Sis, you’re acting like a love-struck teenager.”

 

“No, I’m not,” Evan said, glancing at Kit.

 

“That kiss yesterday morning?  That song with him?  Oh yeah, you are.  And I’m just finding out that you lived with him?  You never told me that!”

 

Evan opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it.  “You see how mom and dad are with Dean and I living together.  Do you think they would have approved of Lindsey?”

 

“Point taken,” Kit said.  “What’s going on with you two?”

 

“Kit, I don’t know.  I’m off kilter,” Evan said honestly.  She propped her elbow on the driver’s window and laid her head on it.  “I’m falling back into the stomach flutters I used to get when I first met him.”

 

“Sis, you have a life with Dean.  A son,” she told her softly.

 

“I know that!” Evan retorted.  “Kit,” she began, then stopped.  “He was my first love.  And I loved him.  With all my heart.  When I had to leave him, it shattered me.”  She wiped her eyes as they stung with tears.  “I’d even thought about forgetting everything we’d learned when Nana died.”

 

“You never told me that,” Kit said softly, looking at the sadness on her sister’s face.

 

“I could have been happy,” Evan answered.

 

“Aren’t you happy now?”  Kit questioned.  She’d thought her sister was.  Had she been wrong?

 

“I wouldn’t change anything about my life right now,” Evan told her, looking at her.  “I wouldn’t give up what I have.”

 

“Do you still love Lindsey?  Because I think he still loves you,” Kit told her.  “I’ve seen the way he looks at you.  And I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

 

“Of course I still love him,” she told her sister honestly, her voice tight.  “I never stopped.  But my love for him is different now.  Too much has happened since then.  And I love Dean.  Nothing is going to change from where it is now.  I’m just,” Evan trailed off, not knowing how to explain.

 

“Confused?”  Kit asked her.

 

“Very,” Evan groused.  She looked at her sister and gave her a lop-sided smile.  “I’m in new territory.  I’ve never come face to face with an ex-lover before.”

 

“Oh, come on,” Kit snorted.  “James Palmer.  We ran into him at Angie’s wedding.”

 

“James Palmer?  I never had sex with him,” Evan told her, frowning in distaste.  “He was drunk, tried to grab my,” she grimaced.  “And I laid him out.  He sported a nice shiner for our Senior Class pictures.”

 

“Okay, well, you said _nothing_ about Lindsey being so damned fine!”

 

“You saw his picture!” Evan retorted.

 

“When you showed it to me yesterday!” Kit exclaimed.  “And that picture does not do him justice.”

 

“He’s aged well,” Evan admitted, not realizing the grin that slid to her lips.

 

“That’s an understatement,” Kit snorted.  “And I think Dean is jealous,” she paused.  “No, scratch that he’s _very_ jealous.”

 

“Dean and I will work it out, we always do,” Evan said with a small smile.  She then looked at her sister with a smirk.  “You better hope that you never run into Michael.  You do, and we’ll see a whole new side of Sam.”

 

“Don’t,” Kit said softly.  “Just don’t.  Michaels in the past.  Leave him there.” Kit turned her head to look out the window, a fleeting look across her face.

 

Evan looked at her sister, saw the on her face and reached over to hug her shoulders, immediately sorry she had brought her sister back those memories. 

 

A few minutes later, Evan pulled into the back parking lot of the mall.  Being that most people were at work during this time of day, they figured that the cars parked there belonged to the mall employees.  Locking up the car, they walked through the back entrance of the mall through the food court.

 

“I don’t want to be too long,” Evan started, then stopped as something in one of the store front windows caught her eye.  “Ohh, look at that,” she said to Kit.

 

Kit grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the window.  “We’re here for clothes.”

 

“Those were clothes!” Evan retorted, pointing back at the window.

 

“Men’s clothes!” Kit said, dragging her sister along. 

 

“Fine!” Evan groused, pouting at her sister.

 

They came to the store where they usually shopped for clothes for Sam and Dean and ventured in.  Kit went over to the rack of shirts and sorted through them.  She pulled out a couple of blue shirts that she thought would fit Lindsey and then headed over to where Evan was sorting through the jeans.

 

“I don’t think Lindsey brought anything with him,” Kit said to Evan.

 

“From the sound of it, he didn’t have a lot of time to get out of there,” Evan responded.  She draped a couple pairs of jeans over her arm and then looked for some.  “I hope these will fit.”

 

“I think they should,” Kit said eyeing them before going over to another display.  She peered through the items, picking out random ones.

 

“I was thinking last night Kit,” Evan began.

 

“That’s never a good thing,” Kit replied, then grimaced when Evan smacked her in the arm.  “About what?”

 

“The emerald,” Evan said, lowering her voice so those around them wouldn’t hear her.  “If the firm was looking for it, we know that’s bad news.”

 

“Understatement, but go on.”

 

“We know what it does,” Evan stated.  “We have to assume that they know what it does.  What if they wanted to control Putnam?”

 

Kit looked at her, frowning slightly.  “Well, they would be able to control him with the emerald.”

 

“Exactly,” Evan said, picking up another shirt.  “But,” she paused as a man walked over to the display stand and started looking at the items.  Evan grabbed Kit’s arm and pulled her away from the stand.  “But what if they wanted Putnam to steal the souls, to collect them.”

 

“What would that gain them?” Kit whispered.

 

“Think maybe it could get them the souls that they need to a demon like Azazel, so they could swing the balance to the dark side?” Evan said quietly to her sister.

 

“That in itself is a grim thought.  But I think we should have a family discussion tonight,” Kit told her.  “And we need to find out all that Lindsey knows.”

 

“I think you’re right,” Evan said.  “I think this should be enough,” she looked down at the clothes that they carried.  They turned and went up to the cashier to wait their turn.  As they waited, Evan idly rubbed her wrist against her jeans to ease an itch.  Kit gave the girl behind the counter the items and glanced at Evan.  She frowned as Evan continued to rub her wrists against her jeans.

 

“Sis?  Why are you itching”

 

“I don’t know.  Something must be here,” Evan replied, itching her wrists again.  “I think we should go.”

 

“Yeah, we should,” Kit said, silently urging the cashier to ring the items through faster.  She handed her the amount for the bill and helped her stuff the items in the bag.  “Let’s go.”

 

Evan grimaced as the itch in her wrists grew worse.  Outside the store, they looked around them.

 

“Do you see anything?”  Kit asked her.

 

“No, but I’m feeling exposed, we don’t have any weapons on us.  And there’s too many people,” Evan said, her voice growing tight with unease as she looked around, seeing the growing crowd.  They made their way through the other shoppers, losing sight of each other for a moment.  Evan jumped as Kit grabbed her shoulder, pulling her down the corridor off the food court and they made their way out of the mall.  The itch had decreased, but there was still a little bit of a tingle, and the unease grew.

 

“Is your spidey sense out of whack?” Kit said as they reached the car. 

 

“I don’t know,” Evan said, digging her keys out of her pocket.  She was just pulling the keys out when the itch suddenly grew so bad that she hissed in pain and dropped the keys.  “It hurts,” she whimpered, scratching her wrists frantically.

 

Kit was about to say something, but it turned into a scream of surprise when something battered into her back and threw her into the side of the car.  Evan looked up and saw the look of surprise on her sister’s face.  She recoiled when she saw thick furry arms crawl over Kit’s shoulders.  A head appeared from over them, long jaws opened and hissed.

 

“What the fuck is that?”  Evan shouted in disgust.

 

Kit dropped the bags and tried to push herself away from the car, but the weight against her back made it hard to move.  She could hear the loud hissing in her ears and felt thick legs wrap around her chest and waist.  Reaching behind her, she grabbed at something, and immediately wished she hadn’t.  Warm, sticky fluid seeped around her fingers.  She made a sound of disgust.  “Get this thing off me!” She cried as she felt the legs wrap around her neck and begin to tighten.

 

Evan reached down and grabbed her keys, trying frantically to unlock the door.  Pulling it open she crawled into the front seat and popped open the glove compartment to pull out the dagger.  She screamed when something clamped around her ankle and began pulling her out of the car.  Grasping at the door handle, she kicked her legs, trying to get free.  She heard a grunt of pain as the hell of her boot connected.  Glancing back, her eyes widened as she took in the large man reaching into the car for her.  His face was tattooed and scarred.  And very angry looking.  Evan twisted and stabbed the dagger into his hand around her ankle.  He reared back in pain and snarled at her.

 

Scrambling quickly to the door of the car, Evan unlocked it and pushed it open.  The door opening pushed Kit backwards as she struggled against the thing holding her.  Seeing her sister climb out of the car at her with the dagger, Kit closed her eyes.  Evan grabbed one of the arms holding Kits throat and stuck the blade under it, and yanking it back viciously, ripping through the thick leg.

 

Kit heard a demonic squeal of pain and a rush of warm fluid over her.  The grip around her neck loosened and she was able to push her hands through the legs holding her.  She grunted as she pushed them away from her and twisted around to see the large body land on the ground.  Grimacing, she saw the large spider-like body crawl around on its remaining legs.

 

“Kit!” Evan cried out as she was ripped away from her sister.  The heavily muscled arm of the man reached through the door of the car and pulled her through.  She struggled against the grip as she tried to grab onto something.  She swung her arm back, digging the dagger into his shoulder.  As she twisted it, she slipped free and turned quickly to kick the man in the face.  He snarled and grabbed her calf and pulled her out of the car.  She groaned as she landed on the concrete.

 

Kit dodged the swinging legs of the demon, it looked up at her, it’s multitude of eyes glowing red as it looked at her.  The mouth opened wide and hissed at her.  “Oh no you don’t,” she said as she brought her leg back and kicked it hard.  It flew a distance before landing with a thud and rolled.  When it righted itself, it reared up on its back legs and hissed louder before dropping down to scrabble towards her.  Kit climbed into the car and slammed the door.  Reaching under the passenger seat, Kit grabbed another blade.  She looked to see the tall man that she hadn’t seen before reach down for Evan.

 

Evan saw the hand reach for her and tried to scoot out of the way.  He caught the front of her jacket and dragged her across the pavement before lifting her, slapping her hard with his other hand.  As he lifted her, Evan kicked out, trying to get free.  Her foot connected with his stomach, but he barely grunted.

 

“Huang Se’s afraid of you?  You’re pathetic little wenches.  It will be a pleasure to kill you.  And then him,” he growled at her, his voice thickly accented.  “Where is he?”  He demanded.

 

“Fuck you!” Evan snapped back, she kicked again and swung her fist to his face.

 

“Bitch!” He snarled, shaking her.  “Where is the Immortal?”

 

Kit saw the way he shook Evan like a rag doll and ran towards him.  Crouching low, she ran towards him, ducking his free arm as he swung at her.  She stabbed the blade at his thigh, sinking it deep.  He growled in pain and swung at Kit again.  She twisted around him, pulling the blade free and swinging it at him again, burying it in his side, twisting it sharply.  When his grip loosened a little, Evan grabbed at his wrists, digging her nails in and drawing blood, he snarled and slapped her again.  She kicked between his legs as hard as she could, then punched him again.  He dropped her, and Evan crumbled to the ground, gasping.  She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to get the black haze from her vision.

 

Seeing Kit dodging the swinging arms of the large man, she crawled to the car.  Climbing into it, she reached into the back seat and found the baseball bat.  Taking a grip of it, she looked towards them.  She paused when she heard a loud hiss behind her.  Turning quickly, she saw the spider demon on the roof of her car.  She took a few steps back eyeing the disgusting demon.  It hissed louder at her.  Its eyes seemed to focus on her, glowing a deep red.

 

“Oh god you’re ugly,” she told it.  When it leaped at her, Evan turned out of its way and swung the bat, striking it hard.  She watched as it sailed towards the tall man and struck him in the back.

 

“Kit, move!” Evan screamed, stalking towards the man, the bat raised.  Kit ducked out of the way. As he reached for her, Evan swung the bat against his arm.  She heard the sickening crack as the bone broke.  Bringing the bat back, she caught him in the knee and she heard another gut-wrenching crack.  He fell to his good knee, howling in pain.  His eyes narrowed on her, his hand reaching out to her.  Evan swung again towards his hand.  As it connected, Evan could feel the bones in his hand break.

 

“You’re all dead you bitch!” He snarled at her, crawling awkwardly towards her.

 

“Evan, what are we going to do?”  Kit breathed heavily as she came to her sister’s side.

 

Evan looked at the man, keeping out of his reach as he continued to crawl after them.  Her eyes narrowed.  “You’re the one who’s going to die.”

 

Drogue snarled at her and pushed himself up.  His face handed as he stepped towards her.  His hands reaching out for them.  “I can’t die little girl.”

 

“Evan let’s get out of here!” Kit yelled, pulling at Evans arm.  Turning, they ran towards the car, they scrambled inside and Evan started it quickly.  They jumped back in their seats as the thick body of the demon landed on the windshield.  The glowing eyes swung between them, then fixated on Evan.  “Move move move!” Kit cried.

 

Evan slammed the car in gear and stomped on the gas.  The tail end of the car fishtailed as she pulled away.  The demon on the car lost its grip and rolled off the car.  Kit looked in the rearview mirror, watching as it landed on the ground.  Her eyes widened as she saw a large yellow Hummer come towards them.  “Sis, get this thing moving!” She cried as she saw it come closer.

 

“What the hell?” Evan looked in the side mirror and saw the vehicle coming up behind them.  She swerved as it came up to her.  “Hold on!” She shouted at Kit, wrenching the wheel sharply to the left and hit the brakes.  The rear of the car skidded and the car turned.  She hit the gas again and the car shot forward.

 

“Here he comes!” Kit yelled, tracking the Hummer.  “Step on it!”

 

Evan looked around for an escape.  “Where does that lead?” She asked her sister quickly, pointing towards an exit.

 

“The new subdivision,” Kit told her.  “Take it, we can lose him in there”

 

Pressing down on the gas, Evan swung the car towards the exit and turned the wheel quickly to avoid an oncoming car as it came in.  The tail end slid again and she corrected.  The car honked at her, but she ignored it.  She heard a crash as the Hummer hit the other vehicle.

 

“Turn left!” Kit shouted, glancing at the road and then back at the Hummer as Evan turned quickly.  “He’s still coming.  Just mowed down that car like it was nothing,” she panted.  Looking forward, she watched the road for a place to turn.  “Turn there,” she pointed to a side road.  “What, who was that?” Kit asked her sister.

 

“I think it was an Immortal,” Evan said, turning the car down the road where Kit pointed.  She looked at the side mirror and saw the Hummer still behind them.  Pushing the car harder.  “Whatever we do, we cannot lead him to the house.  We have to lose him.”

 

“An Immortal like Lindsey?”  Kit questioned.  She pulled a map out of the glove compartment.  Finding where they were, Kit glanced at her sister.

 

“No, not like Lindsey.  An evil one.  I think that’s Drogue, the one Lindsey told me about, he’s hunting other Immortals,” Evan explained in a rush as she turned quickly into another side road.

 

“Evan, turn right up here.  We’ll take the back roads into the woods,” Kit told her.  “What the hell was that demon with him?”

 

“I have no clue.  I’ve never seen anything like it in Nana’s books,” Evan said, taking the road that Kit pointed out.  She glanced in the mirror again and saw the vehicle still behind them.  The Hummer came at them faster, ramming into the back of her car.  They jerked in their seats at the impact. “Come on!” She growled, corrected as the car swished on the road.  He rammed the car again.

 

“We gotta lose him fast,” Kit said.  Looking at the map, she found an off road into the foothills.  “Sis, here.  We can lose him in there.”  Evan looked at the spot on the map and nodded. waiting until the last moment to turn down a side road.  She saw the Hummer go past and skid to a stop.  She made maybe a minute to get as far ahead of him as possible.  She pressed the gas harder, urging more speed out of her car.


	16. Fifteen

Lindsey flipped the page of one of the books and looked at the demon detailed there. He made a few notes in the margins and then flipped the page again. As he studied the page, he saw one of the books that he’d already gone through flip open. He paused and saw it shut again.

“What can I do for you Mrs. Rennie?” He asked idly, making more notes. When the book flew across the room to bang against the wall, he paid attention. He knew that the deceased hunter was trying to get his attention, but it wasn’t easy to understand her. He looked where the book struck the wall. “I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me,” he told her honestly. He watched as the clock began to swing back and forth on the wall. He frowned.

“It can’t be that late,” he said, glancing at his watch. He saw that it was. “It’s been three hours since they left?” The clock swung again. Digging through the books that he had gathered, he found the paper that Kit had given him with the phone numbers. He dialled Evans quickly. He listened to it ring a few times before it went to voicemail. Disconnecting, he tried Kit’s number. It too rang a few times and went to voicemail. He tried both numbers again. Same thing.

“They should be back by now,” he said aloud. Rising from the chair he went into the kitchen and picked up the house phone. He tried the numbers again. Same thing. “Do you know how to get in touch with Dean?” He asked the spirit and the notes tacked to the cork board beside the phone ruffled. One of them fell to the ground and he picked it up, reading it. “Winchester Restoration,” he murmured and then dialled the number. Someone picked up on the third ring.

“Winchester Restoration, John speaking,” the man’s gruff voice filled the line.

“John, it’s Lindsey,” he said shortly. “Is Dean there?”

“Yeah, one sec. Dean!” He heard John shout for his son. “It’s Lindsey,” came the muffled answer to an unheard question.

“What’s up?” Dean asked as he wiped grease from his hands with a rag.

“I can’t get ahold of the girls. They were going to be gone an hour. That was three hours ago,” he told him. “I’ve tried them both three times, keep getting voicemail.”

“Where were they going?” Dean asked, instantly on alert.

“The mall nearby?” Lindsey told him. “Dean, we have to find them. I’ve got a,” he paused, not sure how to explain. “A feeling.” The buzz that he often felt when he was in proximity of another Immortal had started about a half an hour after Kit and Evan had left. It was something that he’d gotten used to, so he hadn’t thought too much about it. And when it had faded he’d forgotten about it. But now, he had to wonder.

“I’ll check out the mall and see if I can see anything. They’re probably just shopping still,” Dean said, not letting the unease leak into his voice. He hung up the phone and turned to his Dad.

“What’s wrong?” John asked him, worried by the look on his son’s face.

“The girls went out three hours ago, and Lindsey can’t get in touch with them,” Dean told him as he pulled out his phone. He dialled Evan’s number while John tried Kit’s. Neither of them was able to get through.

“Go look, see what you can find,” John told him. “I can take care of things here.”

“I’ll call you if I find anything,” Dean said, grabbing his jacket and keys.

“I’ll keep trying the girls,” John told him, dialling Evan’s number again.

Dean climbed in the Impala and quickly drove towards the mall. Pulling in to the parking lot, he drove around it, trying to spot Evan’s car. As he was driving around the back of the mall, he saw a group of people gathering around a police car. Leaning over and reaching into the glove compartment, he brought out a battered cigar box. He flicked through the fake ID’s that he stored inside and chose one. Pulling the car into a parking spot, he turned the car off and slipped the ID into his wallet and pulled out a badge, sticking it into the leather. Climbing out of the car, he walked over to the officers.

“How ya doing man?” He asked when he saw the officer finish up with the person he was talking to.

“Can I help you?” The officer looked up at him, slightly distracted as he went over his notes.

“Special Agent Spencer Collins of the FBI,” Dean said, flashing the badge at the young officer.

“What’s the FBI doing here?” The officer asked him. He straightened his spine and looked at the agent before him.

“Oh, I’m not here in an official capacity, Officer,” Dean looked at the man’s badge. “Taylor. I was just coming to do some shopping and saw your car and was wondering what was going on,” Dean said affably to the officer, knowing that local law enforcement usually didn’t welcome FBI interference.

Officer Taylor looked at the man before him, took in his jeans and jacket. He wasn’t sure if he should say something. If officers talked to the FBI, the Bureau had a habit of taking over their cases. But the witnesses he talked to had given him some strange accounts. Maybe it would be best if the FBI took over the case and got it off his departments hands. Or maybe he could just give him some guidance. “I’ve got witnesses that say that a tall guy was in a fight with two women. One attacked him with a baseball bat, and then they took off in an old car. The guy stole that guys,” he pointed at the victim, “Hummer and took off after them.”

“Did you get a description of these girls? Or their car?” Dean questioned, wanting to know if they had enough of a description of the girls to cause problems.

“An old red and white car,” Taylor looked at his notes. “One was a tall woman, the other was short. They had red hair. The victim said that the guy was really tall and really big.”

“Not a great description,” Dean said, pondering.

“No, it’s not. But the witnesses said that one of the women took a baseball bat to the guy and he got up afterwards, chasing after them. He pulled the victim right out of the Hummer through the window.”

“Sounds like the guy was on some powerful drugs,” Dean told him. When the officer looked at him, Dean continued. “If she hit him with a baseball bat and he got up, I’d be thinking maybe meth. I saw a guy punch right through a windshield, broke every bone in his hand and still kept pounding away at the windshield,” he said, recalling the lines from The Terminator he’d watched years ago. “Adrenaline rushing through him. Sounds like the women were defending themselves.”

“I put an APB out on the Hummer,” Taylor told him.

“Good work Officer, I’ll leave you to it,” Dean said. He took the man’s pen and pulled a car out of his wallet and scribbled his number on it. “If you need any help, give me a call.”

“Thanks Agent,” Taylor said, tucking the card into his pocket.

Dean walked back to his car and got in. He reached into his jacket pocket and grabbed his phone. As he dialled Evan’s number again, he started the car. It went to voicemail again. “Dammit Evan! Call me!” He growled, backing the car out of the parking spot. He disconnected and called Kit’s phone. Again, it went to voicemail and he left the same message. He called his father. “Dad, we may have a problem,” he said, telling him what the officer told him.

“I’m on my way to get Sammy at the train. I’ll meet you at the house,” John told him and then hung up. He grabbed his jacket and flipped the shop sign to “Closed” and locked the door. Going out to his truck, texting Sam as he went. Climbing into his truck, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the train station. As he drove, he dialled first Evan’s and then Kit’s numbers. He growled in aggravation as they each went to voicemail.

 

Lindsey paced the living room as he continued to dial Evan and Kit’s numbers, each time getting their voicemails. He pushed his hand through his hair in frustration as he left messages on both. He stopped pacing when he heard a car pull into the driveway. Limping over to the door, he pulled it open, stopping when he saw the Impala. Dean got out and made his way up the steps and into the house.

“Did you find anything?” Lindsey asked him, as Dean slammed the door shut and went into the study. Following him in, he watched as Dean pulled open the laptop. “Dean? Did you find anything?”

Dean stopped and looked at the man. He didn’t trust him, didn’t like him and he certainly didn’t want to discuss this with him, but he knew that Lindsey just might know something. With a sigh, he laid his hands on the desk and looked at Lindsey, telling him what he’d found out from the officer. 

“Drogue,” Lindsey whispered, frowning. “I have to make a phone call.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started dialling.

“Who’s Drogue?” Dean called after him as he walked out. Frowning and shaking his head, Dean pulled up a web page and started typing. He put in Evan’s phone number into the map and hit search. A moment later it came back saying that no result found. Either her phone was off, or it was out of range. He put in Kit’s number. Same result. “Where the hell are you?” He questioned aloud. He pulled up another page and started searching for some kind of signal on the GPS tracker he’d put in Evan’s car. No result.

A short time later, John and Sam pulled into the driveway and came into the house.

“Have you heard anything?” Sam asked hurriedly. John had told him what had happened on their way over.

“No. And I’ve tried pinging their phones and the GPS. Nothing,” Dean told them. “Lindsey!” Dean shouted, coming out of the study to find Lindsey in the kitchen, Sam and John followed him. “Who the hell is Drogue, and what does he have to do with this?” Dean demanded.

Lindsey held up a hand to him. He nodded as he listened to the man on the phone. “Thanks Duncan,” he said into the phone and disconnected. He closed his eyes briefly and shook his head. “Drogue is an Immortal. As far as anyone knows, he’s over nine hundred years old. Very powerful.”

“What the hell would he want with the girls?” John asked him. They all paused as they heard a car pull into the driveway. They rushed to the door and pulled it open, all breathing a sigh of relief when Kit and Evan got out of the car.

“What the hell happened?” Dean demanded, looking them over and then looking over the damage to the Thunderbird. “You okay?” He took Evan’s arms and looked at her. He saw a cut on her forehead and bruises forming on her face. 

“Yeah,” she said, giving him a hug. She was so happy to see them.

“What happened?” Sam asked Kit as he hugged her tightly. He pulled back to look at her. She was pale but seemed unhurt.

“I’m okay,” she replied softly, hugging him again. “We need to get inside,” she said, her voice tight and a little shaky.

Dean went into the kitchen and got a paper towel and ran it under the water. Wringing it out, he brought it into the living room and knelt beside Evan, dabbing it on the cut on her forehead, wiping away the blood.

“Lindsey? Drogue? Big guy about a million miles tall, scarred and tatted?” Evan asked, wincing as Dean pressed against the cut on her head. Now that he had cleaned off the dried blood, it had started to bleed again.

“Don’t forget the pet spider demon the size of a main coon,” Kit added.

“Yeah, and that,” Evan said. “He’s in town.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him. But a Spider demon?” Lindsey questioned, he grabbed the notepad that Kit had left earlier and quickly began to draw something.

“Yeah, it was big, ugly and had glowing red eyes,” Kit told him. She remembered how it fixated on Evan. “And it seemed to know us.”

“What do you mean?” Dean asked her as he examined the cut on Evan’s forehead.

“It watched us,” she answered. “I cut one of its legs off, but the fucker kept coming at us.”

“And this guy Drogue is not happy with us right now. I took a baseball bat to him. Broke his knee, his arm and his hand,” Evan told them.

“Lindsey called me at the shop. Said he hadn’t been able to get ahold of you two. So, I went out looking for you at the mall. Ran into one of the cops there. He pulled the driver of the Hummer out of the driver’s window and took off in it,” Dean told her. “I told the officer that it sounded like the guy was on meth or something.”

“He had the strength of a meth head,” Kit groused.

“Asshole rammed my car!” Evan said to Dean. “We didn’t want to bring him near the house, so we took off out of town. We’ve been hiding out in the foothills. No cell reception.”

“Is this the demon he had?” Lindsey handed Kit the drawing he’d made.

“Yeah, that’s the ugly little fucker,” Kit said, passing the note pad to Evan.

She made a face and handed the drawing to Dean. “Yeah, that’s it. I’ve never seen it in Nana’s books.” She looked at Lindsey, “What is it?”

“It’s a Morkas demon,” Lindsey told them. “It’s like a tracker demon.”

John looked at the drawing. “What does it track?”

“Humans mostly,” Lindsey said. “Give it a taste of human blood and it can track you anywhere.”

“How did it track us?” Kit questioned.

“Not you Kit,” Lindsey looked at Evan. “You. It was tracking you.”


	17. Sixteen

“How could it track me? It doesn’t have my blood,” Evan countered.

He closed his eyes and hung his head for a moment before he looked at her again. “Your first week at Wolfram and Hart.”

Evan frowned in concentration as she thought back to her first week. She gasped suddenly as she looked at him.

Lindsey nodded. “The company “life insurance policy”,” he quoted. “But it wasn’t a life insurance policy. At least not one that benefitted you in any way. They would have studied your blood for any mystical properties or for demonic cloning, or pretty much whatever they needed it for.”

Evan rose from the chair, running her hands through her hair in agitation. “They used my blood to send that demon after me?” 

“Not just yours,” Lindsey said. “They had my blood too. I couldn’t hide or destroy it because I didn’t have access to the blood storage vaults.”

“What is that demon doing with this Drogue guy?” Dean questioned.

“Huang Se,” Evan said suddenly. “Drogue said to me that he didn’t know why Huang Se was afraid of us. He’s the head of Wolfram and Hart now, right?” She asked Lindsey.

“From what Jacob said, yes,” Lindsey pondered. “He gave the Morkas demon our blood and then gave it to Drogue to hunt us down.”

“But how would Drogue know Huang Se?” John questioned.

“According to Duncan, there was a rumour that Drogue was under the control of a demon for centuries. But it was a rumour,” Lindsey said.

“Well, I think that rumour has been confirmed,” Kit said sardonically. “He got this demon from Huang Se, who gave it yours and Evan’s blood.”

“Did you know Drogue when you worked at the firm?” Dean asked him.

“No, I didn’t. I’d never heard his name until Duncan told me of him when I called him to find out where Evan was,” Lindsey answered.

“You knew about this guy and you didn’t say anything?” Dean demanded angrily.

“I’d planned on being gone,” Lindsey retorted.

“He told Evan,” Kit said. “She knew his name when we saw him.”

“Lindsey told me that Drogue was hunting Immortals, and that he had to go or else it would bring danger to us,” Evan admitted. She held up her hand when Dean opened his mouth to say something. “I chose not to say anything.”

“I didn’t know that he’d be tracking Evan too. I thought he’d just be hunting me.”

“Do you think Huang Se sent him to find you because of what he believes you told Evan?” Kit questioned him.

“He knew that Lindsey would come find Evan?” John asked them.

“I can only assume,” Sam said. “He had to know that Lindsey got away from Jacob. And knowing that Jacob would have asked Lindsey about Evan, we also have to guess that Huang Se knew about Lindsey and Evan, and figured that Lindsey would come warn her.”

“But to send an Immortal to kill him?” Dean questioned.

“It’s because I’m an Immortal too. And Huang Se must know what I am. He wants me dead, and the only way to kill an Immortal is with an Immortal,” Lindsey said, looking at them. 

“I think you need to tell us everything you know,” Dean said sternly. “About Drogue, Huang Se, everything.” 

Lindsey hesitated. He knew that he was not supposed to tell them about Immortals, but with what was happening, he knew that he couldn’t not tell them. “I don’t know about Huang Se. I really don’t,” he said when Dean frowned at him. “When I talked to Duncan earlier, he told me Drogue was a warrior with the Norman invasions of Europe. Over six hundred years of killing turned him. He turned dark. He hunts other Immortals to gain our power.”

“Your power?” John asked him.

“It’s a power that all Immortals gain when they reawaken after their First Death. It’s what keeps us alive, even when we’re killed. There is only one way to kill an Immortal,” Lindsey explained.

“Yeah, about that. How do we kill an Immortal?” Evan asked him. “Kit stabbed him in the side. A spot that would kill a normal person. It did nothing.”

Lindsey hesitated. Knowing how to give an Immortal their Final Death was his one security from anyone trying to kill him. He looked at them. He knew he could trust his secret with Evan and Kit, but maybe not the Winchester men. Dean had every reason to kill him. But if Drogue succeeded in killing him, he couldn’t leave them unprotected. Especially knowing that Drogue was hunting Evan and her family. “Decapitation,” he told them. “If you cut the head off an Immortal, it will give us our Final Death.”

“Jesus,” Sam muttered, sitting in the chair with Kit.

“If an Immortal decapitates another Immortal, then all of their strength and knowledge goes to the victor. If a mortal kills an Immortal and there aren’t any other Immortals close by, that power goes to what they call The Source,” he explained.

“What’s The Source?” Dean asked him.

“No one knows,” he told him. “But there is the belief that when there is only one Immortal left on Earth, they will gain The Prize. Which I can only guess is the power that is collected by The Source.”

“Okay, so this Drogue is after you to get your power,” John said. “And he’s hunting Evan, for what? A favor to Huang Se?’

“I doubt this guy is one for doing favours,” Kit said.

“He must have offered Drogue something,” Evan answered.

Dean thought about it. “If Huang Se knew that Lindsey is an Immortal, can we assume that he knows who else is?”

“Oh my god,” Lindsey said as Deans words sunk in. “Huang Se offered him a list of all known Immortals.”

“Do you know how many there are?” Sam asked Lindsey.

“No,” Lindsey replied. “We can tell when one is near, but we don’t have a count of how many there are.”

“How can you tell when one is near?” Evan asked him.

“There’s a,” he wondered how to describe it. “A tingle. Like an electrical current running through us.”

“Kind of like Evan’s itching,” Kit said, then looked at Lindsey. “Her wrists itch when demons and ghosts are near. She felt the Morkas today, which is why we left the store. Oh!” She said suddenly and then jumped up and went out the front door. She returned a few minutes later with the bags from the store. “Non-stained clothes,” she said to Lindsey, handing him the bag.

“Thanks,” he said weakly, taking the bag.

“That “feeling” you said you got earlier today, when you called about Evan,” Dean looked at him. “Was that the buzz you’re talking about?”

Lindsey nodded. “Yeah, but then it faded. I didn’t think that it was Drogue. It happens often.”

“So, we’ve got two early warning systems,” Dean said. “He starts tingling and she starts itching.”

“Okay, so now we know that this bastard is in town. He’s after Lindsey to kill him and take his power, and we know that he’s after me,” Evan said, pacing the living room. “We only have one option. We give him his Final Death.”

It was a moment before hell broke loose and they turned on Evan. She sighed and let them yell.

“Are you fucking serious?” Kit demanded. “We barely beat him today. And that was just enough to get away from him!”

“No way Princess, not going to happen!” Dean snapped.

“You’re out of your mind!” Sam said, rising from his chair to face her.

“I’m the one who has to kill him!” Lindsey reminded her.

“She’s right,” John said softly.

“What?” Dean stopped and looked at his father.

“Excuse me?” Kit spun away from her sister and pinned him with an angry stare. “You weren’t there John!”

John rose from his own chair and stepped over to Evan. He gave her a half smile before turning to his sons and Kit. “This,” he looked at Lindsey, “Drogue?” Lindsey nodded. “This Drogue, is after Lindsey and Evan. And by extension, the rest of us. And from the sounds of it, he won’t even stop when it comes to the boys, or even Angie and your parents,” he looked at Kit before continuing. “If we kill him, then we’re all safe.”

“Dad,” Sam began but Evan held up her hand.

“Sam, it’s the only way to protect everyone,” Evan said. She started pacing. “Lindsey, this Morkas, tracks our blood right?”

“Yeah,” he said softly, wondering what she was thinking. Used to be that he could tell, but now there had been too much time and distance between them.

“We have to draw it and Drogue away from the house, or anyone really. So we find a place to lead them to,” she began.

“We’d need to find an abandoned building that is not on Holy Ground,” Lindsey told her, and when everyone looked at him. “It’s against the rules. No fighting on Holy Ground.”

“Do you two hear yourselves?” Dean broke in. “This is crazy. If he’s as old and powerful as you say, you may not survive this.” He wasn’t crazy about Lindsey, hell, he didn’t trust him. But if something happened to him, then Evan would be upset. And if she was upset, his life was going to be miserable.

Kit thought about what her sister was saying. She knew she was right, knew that Drogue wouldn’t stop until they were all dead. Especially if he wanted the location and identities of all the known Immortals. She didn’t have to like it though. “There’s an old high school outside the west end of town. It’s been abandoned for years,” she told them.

“Okay,” Evan said, nodding. She paced around the living room, thinking aloud as she spoke. “Lindsey, you and I will drive around town looking for that Hummer. We’ll drop blood along the way to draw the Morkas to us. John, Sam and Dean will go the school and make sure it’s empty.”

“I’m coming too,” Kit said to her.

“No, you’re not,” Evan said, waving a hand at her. “You’re staying here. Now shush, the adults are talking,” she continued distractedly.

“Excuse me?” Kit rose from her chair. “The adults are talking?” She said indignantly. “How dare you, you bitch!” Her voice rose in anger as she put her hands on her hips. 

“Kit,” Evan began, realizing how bad what she said sounded.

“I’ve been at your side for years, fighting everything we’ve come across. And you have the nerve to say that?”

“Kit, I didn’t mean it like that,” Evan said.

“It’s your fault that this crapstorm is coming to our door,” Kit snapped.

“Excuse me?” Evan said coldly, her fists clenching at her sides. “What did you just say? My fault?”

“Girls,” Sam said quietly, hoping to diffuse the anger that was quickly rising.

“Yes, your fault! If you hadn’t banged Evil Incorporated’s golden boy, then we wouldn’t have an Immortal hunting our asses!”

“Kit!” Dean yelled.

“Since I thought he was dead, how in the hell was I supposed to know this would happen?” Evan retorted sharply.

“You might of known that there would be consequences!” Kit snapped back.

Evan’s eyes narrowed at her sister, her breathing became ragged as she tried to keep her anger in check. She felt a warm touch on her shoulder, but ignored it. Her anger rose sharply and she felt her hands raise as if to punch Kit. As her hands rose, she felt a warmth push against her hands, she tried to fight it, her anger growing.

“Evan?” Dean said suddenly, seeing Evan’s eyes narrow and her hands jerking as she seemed to fight something. “What the hell is wrong with her?” 

Kit stopped and looked at her sister, her mouth opening in surprise as her anger fled. “I don’t know.”

Evan suddenly growled in frustration, snapping her hands down to her sides. She felt a rush of energy rush through her and spread out, a blue arc running from her hands. The coffee table, chairs and couch jerked from their spots. Everyone looked at her as they felt the energy buffet against them. Evan panted heavily.

“What did you just do?” Kit demanded of her sister, rushing over to her when Evan wobbled on her feet. She and Dean caught her and pushed her into a chair.

“Oh, what a rush,” Evan said weakly. “That wasn’t me. It was Nana. She doesn’t like us fighting.” She looked up at everyone. “Really, it wasn’t me. I wanted to punch Kit, she stopped me. You know these tatts can be annoying. She was able to grab onto me,” she paused and took a deep breath. “Thanks Nana. I would have felt bad for pounding your face in,” she said to Kit dryly.

“Like you could,” Kit smirked. She hugged her sister and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Look Kit, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Yes, you’ve been with me through everything we’ve faced, but I’m serious, you’re not going,” Evan said, taking her hands. “And before you get pissed again,” she squeezed Kit’s hands when she saw her about to say something. “There is a damn good chance that we’re going to die if we face Drogue. And if that happens, you’re going to need to take care of Jimmy and JD.”

“Angie and Kevin are their god parents,” Kit reminded her. 

“Yeah, that’s true. But you are also pregnant, so you’re not going,” Evan said, rising from the chair. She looked at Lindsey. “We need to know the best way to kill him.”

“When we get him there, just keep his little demon buddy busy and I’ll take out Drogue,” he told her.

“And if you lose, then we’ll kill him,” Dean said with a cockiness that he wasn’t sure he felt.

“Uh, kill who?” Angie said from the doorway.

“Angie!” Kit cried, going over to her and taking Jimmy into her arms. “I forgot to call you. Things have been,” she paused. “Crazy around here. Hey little man!” She said to her son, kissing him.

“I see that,” Angie said, releasing Jimmy and looking around at the disturbed furniture.

“Momma!” JD cried as soon as he saw her, when Kevin walked in behind Angie with the boys’ bags.

Evan rose from the chair and took JD, hugging him close. “Hiya Bud,” she said softly.

“Hey Dude,” Dean said, ruffling his son’s hair as Evan brought him over. JD reached out his chubby arms towards his dad and Dean took him from Evan’s reluctant arms. Dean scrabbled his hand up JD’s belly playfully and the toddler giggled.

“Um, hello,” Angie said, catching site of the stranger in their midst. “I’m Angie.”

“The baby sister,” he drawled with a smile. “I’m Lindsey,” he replied.

“Lindsey,” she said it slowly. Then her eyes widened. “Oh you’re that-,” she began.

Kit quickly handed Jimmy over to his father and Evan grabbed Angie arm and the two dragged her out of the living room into the kitchen.

“Stop it!” Angie flailed as they hit the kitchen. “That’s Lindsey? That’s the one from LA?” She whispered, peeking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

“Yes! That’s Lindsey,” Evan hissed at her youngest sister, dragging her away from the doorway.

“Dean’s just a little jealous,” Kit whispered.

“I can see why,” Angie said, moving to peek again. “He’s hot.”

“So is Dean,” Evan said. “And so is Kevin!” She said, holding up Angie’s hand, her rings flashing in the sunlight.

“Hey, don’t be looking at Kevin that way,” Angie said. “He’s my husband.”

“Then don’t be looking at Lindsey that way, he’s my,” she stopped. “You know what I mean,” she grumbled. 

Angie smirked at her sister and sat down at the kitchen table. “So, what’s going on?”

“Long story short? Big and ugly trying to kill us. Well, Lindsey and Evan,” Kit said.

“I thought Lindsey was dead. You said he was,” Angie said, confused.

“Well, I was wrong. And that’s a whole other long story that we really can’t say anything about,” Evan explained. “Look, suffice it to say, evil is afoot.”

“Is that what happened to your car?” Angie asked them.

Evan made a whiney noise. “My car.”

To Angie she said, “I wouldn’t mention the car. Dean will fix it,” Kit assured Evan.


	18. Seventeen

As Kit and Evan explained what they could about what had been happening, they worked together to make dinner. Once it was ready, they called everyone in to get something to eat and they all sat in the living room. Evan and Kit sat on the floor, feeding Jimmy and JD while they ate their dinner.

Lindsey sat in the chair by the window, watching the Callum and Winchester family. Kevin he learned was the newest member, but had been welcomed by the Callum’s. He watched John, saw that he tried to keep to the outside of the circle, but Kit and Evan pulled him in, sending JD and Jimmy after their grandfather. Kit and Sam sat together in the chair, Kit leaning against his shoulder and Sam often leaning down to kiss the top of her head. Dean sat in one of the chairs and Evan, still seated on the floor leaned back against his legs. He reached a hand down and ran his thumb over her bottom lip when she looked up at him.

She was happy, Lindsey thought. He looked at Evan, the bright smile that she flashed when JD climbed into her lap and started picking at her plate. Looking at JD, he could see so much of her in him and he felt a pang of sadness. If he hadn’t been so focused on getting to the top at Wolfram and Hart, he could have had this. The family, the home. And Evan. 

But he screwed it up. And after she’d left, he’d done things that he was not proud of. Things that he would never be able to atone for. She’d been smart to leave him. Although at the time, he hadn’t thought so. But now she had what he’d wanted to give her. He looked at Dean. There was no denying that he was jealous of the man, but he made her happy. And that was all he could ask for.

“Lindsey? You okay?” Evan asked him softly.

He shook his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Was just thinking.”

A few hours later, Kevin and Angie said their good nights and left to go home, promising that they would come back the next day to sit with Kit and the boys.

“I’m glad Mom and Dad are out of town at Dad’s conference,” Kit said as she sat down with Sam. “They would have been upset at what’s happened. And at what we have to do.”

“Why would they be upset?” Evan asked her, puzzled. “He’s trying to kill us. So, we kill him first.”

“He’s still human, Sis,” Kit said.

“He’s an Immortal, he’s evil, he’s toast,” Evan said sharply. “I’m not going to feel bad about it when he’s dead.”

“I know Evan, but,” Kit paused. He’d tried to kill them. He was going to hunt them down. “You’re right. He’s dead."

“I should head out,” John said, rising from his chair. “I’ll swing by the shop tomorrow morning and check the police reports toes if I can find any reports on Drogue. I’ll meet you here at noon, and the boys and I will head out to the high school.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow John,” Kit said, rising from the chair to give her father-in-law a hug.

Evan gave him a hug too, kissing his cheek. “See you soon.”

“Night boys,” John said, then walked out of the house. As he climbed into his truck he reached into his jacket pocket. Backing up the truck, he dialled a number and waited for it to connect. “It’s John.”

“What the hell do you want?” Came the gruff voice on the other end of the line.

“The boys and I need some information,” John replied. A small smile on his face. The old hunter and himself had been at odds often. But he always came through.

“What have you ijits stepped in now?”

“What do you know about Immortals?” John asked him as he made his way out of the suburb.

 

Evan handed Lindsey and Sam a beer, gave Kit a caffeine free soda and sat down with Dean, handing him his beer. Cracking the top off hers, she took a sip and then settled back against Dean’s shoulder.

“Where do your people come from?” Dean asked idly as he sipped his beer.

“From earth,” Lindsey told them with a chuckle. “Where in history that the first Immortals were reborn is a matter of opinion.”

“You’ve only been an Immortal for a few years now, so you’re a baby Immortal?” Kit asked sleepily. The adrenaline rush from earlier in the day had long worn off and now she just wanted to sleep.

“I wouldn’t put it that way,” he replied. “But yes, I’ve only been Immortal for a few years. There’s stuff I’m still learning.”

“Are we going to have a chance against this guy?” Sam asked him honestly.

Lindsey looked at each of them, considering what to tell them. In the end, he decided the truth was best. “He’s not going to fight fair. And he’s not going to give any mercy. He will try to kill you.”

“Can you find plans for the school so we know where best to draw him to?” Dean asked Sam.

“I’ll see what I can find in the morning,” he told his brother.

“I really think I should be going with you,” Kit told them.

“It’s best if you didn’t,” Lindsey told her. “I’ve already brought this to your door. If anything were to happen to your baby because of this,” Lindsey shook his head. “And he won’t care if your pregnant.”

Kit closed her mouth and nodded. She still had time to talk to Sam before tomorrow. “I’m going to head to bed,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“Same here,” Evan agreed and then paused. “I think we should have a practice session tomorrow morning. Get us ready.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Dean nodded, rising from the chair. He gathered up the empty bottles and took them to the kitchen. Putting them in the empty case, he turned and found Lindsey standing in the doorway. “Evan go upstairs?”

“Uh yeah,” Lindsey said quietly. He looked at the younger man with uncertainty. “Dean, I’m sorry about all of this. I really am.”

“Look, Lindsey I know. And I appreciate that you came to warn Evan. I’m just having a hard time with this,” he leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “You’re her first love.”

“Yeah, I am. But you’re the one she’s with. Before Evan, were you ever in love?” Lindsey asked him.

“Yeah. I was,” Dean told him. “But she wouldn’t have done well with this kind of life,” he said honestly.

Lindsey sat down at the kitchen table, “Evan was the best thing in my life, and I screwed it up. Don’t do the same thing.”

“Do you know who Lincoln is?” Dean asked, then shook his head. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to know the answer.

“I don’t know, that was after me,” Lindsey chuckled. “Don’t dwell on it.”

“Yeah,” Dean sighed and headed to the kitchen door. He stopped and turned back to Lindsey. “Were you the one she was in Avalon with?”

“Go to bed Dean,” Lindsey replied, finishing his beer.

Lindsey waited until he heard Dean go up the stairs and close the bedroom door. He sat for a while longer, looking out the window, watching the sun go down. He flexed his ankle, glad that there was no pain. Unbuttoning his shirt and looking down at the scar across his chest, he sighed. He should have gone by now. He was well enough, he should have left. Let Evan and her family live in peace. But now that he knew that Drogue was tracking them both, he had to stay. He had to make sure that all of them were safe.

Rising from the chair, he walked up the hall and into the study. Sitting on the pull-out couch, he stripped off his shirt and pulled off his boots. He stretched out on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. From above, he could hear soft voices, a door closing and the squeak of bedsprings as someone climbed into bed. The soft voices continued. 

He really should have gone. Turning over onto his side, he closed his eyes.


	19. Eighteen

Dust motes came in through the basement window as Sam and Dean finished sparring.  Kit sat on one of the old crates tucked to the side.  Dean pulled Sam up from the floor and went to go sit by Evan.  Sam went over to Kit and took the water bottle from her to take a drink.  Lindsey sat on the chair on the other side of the mat.  Evan gave Dean a quick kiss on the cheek and then stood up. 

 

“Okay, which of you two is gonna face me?”  Evan asked, putting her hands on her hips and looking between them.  Sam shook his head.  Dean took a drink of water and shook his head.

 

“Looks like you’re going against me, Darlin’,” Lindsay drawled and rose from the chair.

 

Evan quirked an eyebrow at him.  He was dressed in a new pair of jeans, t-shirt and his boots.  “You think you’re up to it?”  She questioned as he came to stand before her.

 

“I’d better be.  Like we used to?” He asked her softly, looking at her steadily.  She looked back at him, her breath quickening just a little.  She bit her bottom lip.  Knowing what was going through her mind and wondered if she had the nerve to do it like they used to.  Full tilt, no limits.  He pushed a little.  “Unless you’re out of practice.”

 

 _Don’t do it_ , part of her whispered at her.  _This is not like before_ , it told her.  Pleading.

 

 _Please do it_ , the other part, the willful side begged her softly.  _It’s been so long_ , it whispered at her again.  Coaxing, teasing.

 

Walking over to the rack on the wall, she pulled down two swords.  She tossed one to Lindsey, looking at him.  “Balthazar.”  She said softly, giving him the word that would end the fight, and then pulled hers out of the scabbard before going back to her spot on the mat away from everyone.

 

“What is she doing?” Kit asked nervously, leaning forward on her seat.

 

“Don’t worry, Momma Bear.  We did this all the time,” Lindsey said with a wink as he pulled out the sword.  Dean and Sam watched as he flashed his wrist and the sword danced around his hand before he caught it.  He took a few practice swings, getting the feel of the blade.  Satisfied with it, he walked over to the mat to stand before Evan. 

 

They took positions and together raised the swords and bowed their heads, resting their foreheads on the blade briefly before swiping them down their sides.  Evan watched Lindsey’s face intently, her stance tight, on the alert.  They raised the tips of the swords and slowly circled each other.  Lindsey watched every slight movement as he circled her.  A light flick of his wrist tapped the tip of his sword to hers, she reacted swiftly, catching the tap and flicking her sword back against his. 

 

“No telltale, I’m impressed,” he said softly, tapping her sword again.

 

“I’ve gotten much better,” she replied, returning another light tap against his sword.  The vibration ran down her hand and up her arm and she shivered.  She looked at Lindsey, could see his blue eyes darken slightly as he watched the shiver run through her.  When he tapped her sword again, Evan snapped hers back at little harder.  She moved around him, but her attention was firmly on his eyes.  She tapped his sword again, lightly.  Lindsey’s answering tap back was harder.  The zing of the steel hitting steel sent another shiver down her spine.  Lindsey’s body tightened as the familiar feeling began to rise within him.  It had been so long.

 

Twisting his wrist around, Lindsey sent the tip of his sword under hers and knocked it upwards.  Evan countered by twisting her sword around his and smacking the blade out of the way.  She flicked her wrist and again knocked his blade further away, then took a quick jab at his side.  Lindsey blocked her sword and stepped lightly out of the way, before slashing out at her.  Evan ducked the swipe and caught his blade with hers, twisting her wrist up and pushing his sword away.  His sword flashed in the dull sunlight streaming in through the window as he jabbed at her and Evan caught the blade and struck it away.  Her eyes narrowed as she watched him carefully.

 

“Come on Darlin’,” he said softly, the drawl husky, reaching out and catching her ear.  “You’re pulling.”

 

“Just getting warmed up,” she replied, striking his sword harder.

 

Dean watched as they circled each other, tensing at each tap.  He could see that they were getting harder with each one.

 

“I don’t like this,” Kit whispered at him.  When they had practiced with Evan, they had only used wooden swords, not real ones.  Dean barely listened, watching them closely.

 

Evan blocked out their voices.   Her focus was on Lindsey as they circled each other, to her they were the only two in the room.  Her blood began to pump a little harder through her veins, an almost nervous tension running through her, heightening her senses. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt in quite a while, not even sparring with her family had brought back this feeling.   Lindsey felt the same tension fill him.  He controlled his breathing as he moved around her.  Oh, this was going to be good.

 

Smirking, Lindsey streaked the tip of his sword towards her, Evan caught it and flipped his blade up, then slashed at it.  Twisting his body, Lindsey spun and tried to catch her from behind.  Ducking, Evan caught his blade and thrust it back.  Rising quickly, Evan went on the offence, slashing the sword at him, pushing him back.  Planting his foot, Lindsey returned her strikes with hard slashes and took control, pushing her back.  As she moved back, Evan twisted to the side and tried to slash at Lindsey.  He blocked her blade and tried to push her back.

 

“Dean, I really don’t like this!” Kit whispered at him again, tugging his shirt as she watched them.  From the sound of the swords, she knew that they were hitting too hard for it to be just a training session.

 

“They know what they’re doing,” Sam assured her, but his own concern was growing as they slashed at each other.  The ring of the swords grew louder.

 

Lindsey slashed harder and ducked his body enough to quickly grab her ankle and give it a tug, pulling her off her feet.  Evan braced herself and grunted when her shoulder hit the ground.  Looking up, she focused on Lindsey above her.  She saw him raise his arms and she rolled out of the way.  Thrusting the tip of the sword downwards, Lindsey struck the blade against the floor, creating a deep chip.

 

“Evan!” Kit cried, gasping as the blade came down at her sister. “Jesus Christ!”

 

Rising from the floor, Evan looked at him, her eyes darkening.  She slashed the blade towards him, her blood flowing faster through her as she felt herself letting go, letting instinct take over.  Lindsey jerked, just missing being struck in the ribs.  He twisted and slashed at her sword.

 

“That’s more like it,” Lindsey said softly to her.

 

Evan watched his eyes darken as he came at her, pushing her backwards with the force of his blows.  She twisted suddenly and let him go by her.  Lindsey ducked and turned, slashing upwards as she brought her sword down at him, catching it and pushing her back.  He rolled to his feet and turned as Evan darted around him.  She struck quickly, hit his sword hard, she saw him tighten his grip on the hilt.  She jumped up onto a crate, missing the tip of his blade as it swung towards her then stabbed the sword at her.  She dodged the hard jab and swung her sword down at him from above.  He grunted, reaching up and catching her wrist as she brought her sword down.  Bringing her foot up against his chest, Evan pushed him back, her wrist pulling in his grasp.  She jumped up suddenly and knocked them off balance.

 

“Dean, this is too much!” Kit pleaded with him, she rose to her feet.  “Evan, please!” she cried when Evan ignored her.

 

Throwing her off him, Lindsey grabbed his sword, pulling it from the crate as she landed and turned to swing at him.  He took a step back, then lunged at her, striking fast and hard at her.  Evan met him strike for strike, the metal clashing harder and harder acting out of instinct, moving and slashing at each other.  Reacting with split second timing.  A dark pleasure mixed with fear racing through them as they danced around each other, swords flashing.

 

Swinging his sword, he flicked his wrist and tried to slash at her ribs from under her sword.  Shifting to avoid the blade, Evan brought her sword up to block him.  She pushed his blade away and shifted her wrist, slashing at his ribs.  Lindsey pulled away just in time to prevent the blade from digging deep into him.  He felt it drag over his skin, tearing it.  Bright red blood marred the white of his shirt.

 

“First blood,” she whispered, an almost feral tone to her voice.  Her eyes had darkened to a deep green making the pale gold around the iris flame in the sunlight.

 

“That’s my girl,” he drawled, striking at her.  “You have improved.”

 

“Enough to best a Master Vampire,” she retorted.

 

Evan jumped back, barely wincing as his blade dragged over her thigh, tearing her leggings, cutting the skin.  Red marked her thigh as she struck back, pushing him backwards.  Lindsey turned to his side and tried to swipe at her.  Slashing the sword at him, Evan caught his and threw it back, she then lunged forward at him, tip of her blade aimed for his chest.  Lindsey spun out of the way and caught her sword striking it hard.  The clash of the blades sent a quiver up Evans arm.  She struck back harder, the steel sparking.  Lindsay leapt up onto one of the crates, he jumped over her slashing sword and kicked at the blade, pushing it away as he jumped, swinging himself around her.  As he went around her he thrust his sword out, the blade glancing off her shoulder as she turned out of the way.  She growled at the flare of pain from the cut, chasing him as he moved away from her.  Swinging her blade, the tip slid along his bicep, the material ripping, a thin streak of blood staining it.

 

“Dean, make them stop!” Kit cried, seeing the blood on her sister’s leg and shoulder.

 

Watching in amazement, Dean couldn’t move himself.  He could hear the swords clash harder, watched as they moved around each other.  He could feel the tension growing between them, could feel the charge between them as they moved.  This wasn’t just training, or practice.  The way they moved together, anticipated and countered each move, it was born from a familiarity, an intimacy.   This had been their foreplay.  This was a side of Evan he’d never seen.  He didn’t know if he was angry, or uneasy.

 

Circling each other, Evan struck hard against his blade.  Lindsey circled his wrist and forced it away, then struck back, gripping the hilt and raising the blade above his head, bringing it down hard.  Evan swung her sword up to block it, letting herself fall back onto the floor.  As Lindsey brought the sword down at her, she kicked her foot up between his legs and kicked his ass hard, causing him to fall forward.  Evan twisted and jumped up to her feet as Lindsey curled into a roll and then jumped up.  As he took to his feet, Evan ran at him, swinging her sword.  Lindsey caught it and pushed her away from him.  He struck hard and fast, pushing her back, the blue of his eyes darkening as he swung again and again.  Evan returned the strikes harder, she gripped the hilt tighter and swung as hard as she could.  Catching his blade, she struck it hard to the side and swung her other fist to connect with his cheek. 

 

“Oh shit!” Sam winced, hearing her fist connect with Lindsey’s face.  “Dean,” he looked at his brother, saw the anger in his face, saw his hands fist at his sides.  “We’ve got to stop this,” the tension in Sam’s voice almost palpable as the two continued to fight.

 

Lindsey growled at the blow to his cheek and came at her, he swung his fist at her face, but she ducked out of the way enough that his fist grazed her cheek just hard enough to make it sting.  Turning, she ducked away from him and ran at the basement wall.  She jumped up and pushed herself from it with her foot, turning as she flipped over him, bringing her sword down at him.  Lindsey swung his sword up, striking hers and knocking it out of her hand.  As Evan landed, she dropped back and rolled backwards, grabbing her sword as it clattered to the ground.  She swung up, barely catching his sword as it came down on her.  She growled at him, her eyes flashing as she pushed his sword away viciously.

 

“Dean, they’re going to kill each other!” Kit yelled truly scared for her sister.  “Evan stop this!”  She implored her sister, but Evan was focused on Lindsey and didn’t hear her, or chose not to.  Kit took a step towards her, but moved back again, not wanting to get hit by the flying blades.

 

Lindsey stepped back and then lunged forward at her, the tip of his sword catching her forearm as she moved away from him.  She breathed deeply as she circled him.  Watching her closely, Lindsey moved the opposite direction.  They took in each other’s heavy breathing, the move of their muscles as they circled like wild cats fighting over a fresh kill.

 

They struck at the same time, their blades sparking as they swung hard.  Gripping the hilts, they swung at each other again and again viciously, turning to try to get an opening as the other blade blocked, each trying to take control.  Lindsey slashed to the right, trying to catch her open side.  Evan jumped up, and kicked his midsection, pushing from him.  He grunted as he grabbed her foot as she twisted away from him, pulling her down.  Landing on her back, she kicked her foot free and rolled away from him.  Standing, she swung her sword away from him.  Lindsey swung at her, his side open.  Grabbing his wrist, Evan tucked into his body and pulled him over her shoulder.  Landing hard on the ground, Lindsey twisted around rolled out of her way as she brought the sword down.  It struck the hard ground and chipped the concrete.

 

Kit cried in fear.  “Dean, they’re out of control!”

 

Rising to his feet, and with a sudden swing of his arm, he slashed out at Evan.  When she caught his blade with hers, he grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him.  As he pulled her, Evan switched sword hands.  When he pulled her wrist up over her head, she twisted her other wrist and brought the tip of her sword up to his throat.  He could feel the tip of the blade touch him, she pushed the blade a little harder and he could feel it break the skin.  He looked into her eyes and could see the darkness there.  She panted as she looked at him.  She could feel the warmth of his body against hers, feel the harsh grip of his hand around her wrist.  Lindsey breathed heavily as she pressed against him, feel the curves of her body, the cradle of her hips.  Evan pushed the sword a little more, seeing the metal move over his neck as he swallowed, a small drop of blood coloring the tip of the blade.

 

“Balthazar,” Lindsey said softly.  He could feel the blade press harder against his throat.

 

“Stop!” Dean shouted from the sidelines.

 

Evan stepped away from Lindsey when she heard Deans voice.   She panted harshly as she looked at Lindsey.  Looking back at her, Lindsey clenched his jaw shut, breathing heavily.  He stepped back, his sword dropping to his side.  Turning away from him, Evan pushed past Dean as he came over to them.  She shoved her sword into the punching dummy that was hanging from the ceiling and walked towards the stairs.

 

“Evan!” Dean shouted at her retreating back.

 

“What the hell was that Sis?” Kit demanded, grabbing her sisters arm, turning Evan towards her.  Her eyes widened as Evan looked at her, her eyes dark, flashing with something primal that sent a shiver of fear down Kits spine.

 

Jerking her arm from Kits grasp, Evan went up the stairs.  She slammed the door at the top of the stairs and paused, breathing heavily, not knowing where to go.  Her body tingled, her mind raced.  She had to get out of there, away from Lindsey, away from everyone.

 

Downstairs, Lindsey grabbed her sword from the dummy, and put it back in the scabbard.  Looking at Dean, he smiled ruefully.  He recognized the look that had been in Evans eyes.  He knew that she was still on edge, her blood racing, her pulse pounding.  And he remembered how he used to calm her down.  But he couldn’t, so he said softly.  “You better go after her Sport.”

 

“You bastard!” Kit yelled at him as Dean started up the stairs.  “What the hell was that shit?”  She swung her fist at him angrily. 

 

Lindsey caught her wrist and held her still.  “That, little girl, was training.”  He told her harshly.  “That was not play fighting.  That was not counting score by ink mark.  That,” he pointed to where they had been fighting, “was no punches pulled, no do-overs.  That was testing reflex, split second reaction.  And that was the kind of fighting that prepares you for the battle that’s coming.”

 

“You could have killed her!” Kit shouted as Sam pulled her away from him. 

 

Lindsey released her wrist, looking at her earnestly.  “And she could have killed me.  She knew what she was doing.  I trained her to fight hard, no mercy, fight dirty if you have to.  I trained her to survive.  To be the hunter, not the prey.  Kit, sweetheart,” his voice softened as he looked at her, the anger and fear shining in her eyes.  “Believe me, I wouldn’t have killed your sister.  One word, that’s all it would have taken to stop.  She didn’t use it.” Lindsey gave her a look and walked over to the sword wrack, grabbing the whet stone.

 

“I wish she’d never found that sword,” Kit muttered suddenly looking at the scabbard that he held in his hand, frowning.  _I wish I’d never seen her fight like that_ , she thought, shivering at the look that had been in her sister’s eyes.  When Evan had fought the Master Vampire in Tennessee, there had been a bravado in her fighting and she suddenly realized that her sister had been holding back.  This had been ruthless. Even when she’d been possessed by Bathory, Kit had never feared Evan.  Until today.

 

“Found it?  Oh no Kit, that sword she has?  She named it Reaper, and I gave it to her for her birthday our first year together,” Lindsey told her, sliding his sword back into the scabbard.  He walked past her and up the stairs to the kitchen, taking the swords with him.  In the kitchen, he went to the back door and out of the house

 

Lindsey sat in one of the chairs out in the back yard.  He pulled Evan’s sword from the scabbard and stared at the blade.  He could see the markings on the blade, protective runes that the blacksmith had pressed into the blade as it had been fired.  He absently grabbed the whet stone and began to run it rhythmically along the edge of the blade, trying to drive the images from his mind.  But he couldn’t.

 

His blood still pounded through his veins.  He could still feel the vibration that had run up his arm from when his sword had struck Evan’s.  But it had grown, expanding on itself, echoing through him until it zinged along every nerve ending.  Closing his eyes, Lindsey letting it wreak havoc over him.  He could hear the clash swords echoing through his memory.

 

_The strike of metal on metal rang through the air.  The squeal of the metal as one blade was drawn along the other, sparks dancing in the air.  There was a snarl of anger and then a grunt as the clash rang out again._

_“Come on Darlin’, there’s some more in there isn’t there? That was weak,” Lindsey said, blowing his hair out of his face.  Evan stood before him in a defensive pose, her sword at the ready.  She growled and swung the sword towards him, slashing hard at him, following him as he backed up.  “Maybe you do have a spark left,”_

_“Fuck you!” She snarled, striking hard and fast at him, driving him back._

_“Fight back harder!” He yelled at her, striking at her sword.  “You have to feel it!  Feel the anger!”_

_Evan shifted quickly and thrust at him.  Lindsey struck back, the tip of his blade dragging over her arm and she started, loosening her grip on the sword and sending it flying away from her.  Seeing her disarmed he swung his sword back towards her.  Evan ducked under the swinging blade and calculated her next steps quickly.  When the blade had sailed over her, she had a split-second window to act before he took another strike at her.  She rose up, her fist already striking towards Lindsey’s face._

_Lindsey grabbed her wrist tightly and threw his sword to the side.  He wrapped his arm around Evan’s waist and shifted his feet, spinning her around.  He pushed her up against the wall, his body pressing pinning her against it.  Quickly he grabbed her free hand and pinned them both above her head.  He could hear her panting breath against his cheek._

_“Do you feel it?” He whispered in her ear._

_“Feel what?” Evan snapped back._

_For weeks he had been trying to get Evan to reach into herself for the anger she knew was inside of her to help her fight. For her to give in to the dark feelings that brewed within.  Her parents.  Having to be the “responsible” one of her sisters.  Her grandmother’s death.  But she had always taken a mental step back, throwing a chain around them and keeping them buried._

_So, he was going to take another path._

_“Still yourself and just feel it,” he whispered in her ear.  Struggled more against him, and he pressed harder against him.  “Still,” he whispered again._

_Evan took a few angry breaths as she tensed against him.  She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing._

_“Listen to your heart beating,” he told her softly.  “Hear it beat in your chest, feel it in your ears.”_

_Evan tried to listen to her heart, but all she could hear was his voice in her ear.  She could feel his warm breath on her skin._

_“Fell the warmth of your blood as it moves through you.  Each nerve ending warming as it flows,” his voice dropped a little more.  “Let it burn.”_

_Evan felt the warmth of his body pressing against her.  Everywhere he touched, she did feel her nerve endings flare and grow even warmer.  Closing her eyes, she could feel the warmth grow as he moved more against her.  With each shift against her body, she could feel the heat grow hotter until she could feel it flaming at each nerve ending._

_Lindsey moved his head and pressed his lips against her neck softly.  Evan closed her eyes and tilted her head back.  He wanted to give her a scolding for exposing her neck to him, but it went right out of his head.  As he moved his mouth against her neck, he could hear the way her breath had changed, he could feel her pulse beat wildly under his lips.  He could smell the lotion she used, the warm autumn scents of cinnamon and apples.  It all sent a tightness through him until his nerves were stretched tight and quivered._

_Shifting his hand yet keeping her hands above her head, he raised his head and looked at her.  She looked at him, her eyes darkening.  She closed her eyes and turned her face into his hand as he trailed a knuckle down the side of her face.  His hand pressed against the side of her neck, smoothing down over one breast.  He could feel the hard point of her nipple and rubbed the pad of is thumb over it.  She gasped and arched her back a little.  Evan felt her heart spike in her chest, felt the little jolt on the nerves of her nipple and it rippled out from there._

_Sliding his hand further down over her flat stomach, he tipped his fingers into her leggings, seeking further down.  Evan moaned low in her throat as his fingers moved.  Her hips rocked upwards, trying to move his fingers further down.  Pressing his hand against her, Lindsey stretched one finger down, letting the tip slide over the warm slit of her, back and forth, slow and steady._

_Evan groaned in frustration, moving her hips to try and move his fingers so they would touch her.  “Lindsey,” she whimpered._

_“What Evan?”  He breathed into her ear, the low timber of it vibrating through her.  “What do you want?”_

_“Touch me,” she whispered._

_Lindsey pressed one fingertip between her lips, rubbing lightly over the hard bud of her clit, his mouth pressing against her neck.  She stiffened against him, impatient for a harder touch._

_“Harder Lindsey,” she told him._

_“Just feel it,” he told her softly as he broke his mouth away from her neck and up to her ear._

_Evan gave a small growl of frustration, still trying to move her hips to get more.  She could feel the light brush of his finger against her in small lazy circles.  With each slow swipe she felt the tension within her grow more, her muscles tightening.  Tugging against his hands roughly, she twisted her whole body, gasping as she moved against him, the pull of the fabric of her shirt rubbing against her hard nipples.  A shock ran arrowing through her and building as it was drawn down to the light touch between her legs._

_“Lindsey,” she growled.  She was feeling overwhelmed by the heat within her, she needed it released._

_“No,” he told her firmly.  He heard the pitch of her voice, could feel her growing tenser as he continued to rub lightly.  He could feel his own body grow more tense.  He wanted the release just as much as she did, but he needed more._

_Evan felt a swift anger through her.  He had never said No to her before.  From the first time they had made love a couple of months ago, he had always seemed to know what she needed, often more than she had known herself.  Snapping her eyes open, she stared into his blue eyes, something seeming to flare as he continued, not giving her what she needed.  So, she’d take it herself._

_Sliding one leg up his, she hooked it over his hip and pulled herself up.  Feeling her leg on his hip, Lindsey slid his hand out of her leggings and tried to push it down, but Evan wouldn’t have it.  She pulled her other leg up, winding her legs around his hips.  She groaned as she shifted her hips, pressing herself against, feeling him hard against her.  She rocked her hips slowly, her groan growing louder.  Narrowing her eyes at him, Evan pulled her hand against his hold, reaching quickly to grab his hair.  Her eyes darkened as she pulled his head back by his hair.  She then quickly kissed him, hard.  This was not one of the gentle kisses that they had shared before, where she had coaxed him into kissing her.  This was hungry, an almost desperation to get a taste of something dark._

_Lindsey let her other hand free and then grabbed her hips, trying to pull them closer to him.  He could feel the warmth of her against him even through their thin clothes, and he wanted to feel more.  When Evan grabbed his cheek, her mouth moving over his in with deep, biting kisses as she pulled his hair more, he groaned at the pain from the pull.  It bubbled through him, giving him a tingling feeling through his nerves.  He gave into it and kissed her back._

_Evan gasped as a feeling of fear run through her.  She wanted to pull away from him, take a step back from what was happening to her senses.  Lindsey felt the pause within her and growled inwardly.  The chain was coming out.  But he wasn’t going to let it.  He rocked his hips, his erection rubbing against her and Evan gasped and arched more off the wall.  He let go of one hip and pulled her top down, baring her breasts before capturing one turgid peak in his mouth and sucking hard on it.  Evan rocked her hips with him, feeling him against her.  She could feel his mouth on her nipple and shuddered, her breath coming high and tight almost like she couldn’t breathe.  The fear burned away as he suckled harder and she buried her fingers in his hair, pulling his mouth up, she took his mouth in another hard kiss._

_Pulling her mouth away from him, Evan pushed his shoulders away from her enough to grab the hole she had put in his shirt earlier with her blade.  Breathing heavily, she pulled hard at the hole, rending the shirt apart.  Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she pulled herself closer, her hard nipples pressed against the warmth of his chest as she bit his bottom lip.  Lindsey groaned, his hips now thrusting against her, as he pulled his mouth away from hers and buried it in her neck, biting hard enough to put marks on her pale skin.  Evan gripped his hair and pulled his mouth closer to her neck.  As he bit and suckled her neck, Lindsey growled.  He let her legs fall to the floor as he reached for the end of her shirt and pulled back enough to pull the back of it over her head._

_As he tossed her shirt aside, Evan placed her hands against his chest, pushing him back, step after step as she advanced on him.  When he reached the arm of the couch, she hooked her foot behind his ankle and pulled it while she pushed his shoulders, toppling him back onto the couch.  She crawled quickly over the arm of the couch and straddled his hips.  She rocked her hips against him, sliding her hands up over his chest and holding onto his shoulders as she continued to rock her hips, her back arching and a long, low groan escaped her._

_“There she is,” he said softly, grabbing her hips and rocking back against her._

 

~*~

 

Evan heard Dean coming up the stairs behind her and darted out of the kitchen to the stairs.  Taking the stairs two at a time to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.  She paced the bedroom, running her fingers through her hair.  She tried to breath slowly, but it was rough and fast.  Heat burned through her, her heart beat in her ears.  She didn’t want to hear it, she wanted to calm her heart, stop the electric charge that was growing stronger within her.

 

The bedroom door opened and slammed behind her.  She could feel Dean growing closer to her, could feel each step as it vibrated through the floor and up through the balls of her feet and brought her jangled nerves to an even higher frenzy.  _Go away Dean, please_ , she wanted to say.  She closed her eyes, willing him to go away, but he was too close.

 

“What the hell was that?” he demanded, laying his hand on her shoulder, spinning her around.

 

Evan snaked her shirt off quickly and wrapped one side around Dean’s wrist and then shifted around him to grab his other wrist behind his back.  Twisting the shirt around his hands, laid her hand on his chest and pushed him hard back against the bathroom door.  Dean looked at her, saw the look in her eyes, and tried to wrestle his hands out of her shirt.

 

“Evan, stop this,” he demanded of her.

 

Evan stepped closer to him, her hand still pressed against his chest.  She raised up on her toes, pressing her mouth against his ear.  “Shhhh,” she whispered in his ear.  One hand curled up around his neck and she wound her fingers into the short hair, pulling his head down to her.  She ran her tongue down the side of his neck, then nibbled roughly along his jaw to his mouth.  She traced the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip, then bit it sharply.  Dean struggled against the bond of the shirt.

 

“Evan,” he said, his voice lowering.

 

“Shhhh,” she repeated, a predatory tone to her voice, then kissed him.  Her mouth moved over his, her tongue pushing his lips apart and sliding inside, coaxing his own.

 

Dean was torn.  He wanted to rebuff her.  He really did.  He wasn’t going to be a replacement for Lindsey, the one who had brought her to this state.  But as she pressed herself against him as she kissed him, he couldn’t help but feel the tension within his body shift swiftly into arousal.  He felt her hand slide down his chest and her fingers work over the belt of his jeans.  With a quick move, she had undone the belt and pulled his belt free.  Unzipping his jeans, she continued to kiss him, harder. 

 

Dean kissed her back, his own arousal growing to a painful state.  When he felt Evan slide her hand into his jeans, he groaned softly.  The warmth of her hand curling around his shaft, caused him to groan louder.  She broke her mouth from his, looking at him, she bit her bottom lip as she seemed to study him.  Her hand moved over his shaft, stroking him harder.  Closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the bathroom door, Dean tried to control his breathing.

 

Evan hooked an arm around his shoulders and slid her leg up over his hip and then boosted herself up onto him, her legs winding around the back of his.  She settled herself down against him, feeling him against her, rocking her hips.  Her eyes darkened even more as she moved, and Dean could feel the warmth of her against him.  When she tipped her head back and groaned, he flexed his wrists and wriggled his hands free.  He gripped her ass tight, and pulled her closer to him, Evan looked at him in surprise.

 

Dean didn’t care that Lindsey had brought Evan to the point she was at, but he would be damned if he was just going to let her forget she was with him.  Pushing himself off the door, he walked over to the bed, Evan both rocking against him, and struggling to get free.  He dumped her onto the bed, and when she turned to try to crawl away from him, Dean grabbed her hips, pulling her back towards him, and dropping her legs over the edge of the bed.  Leaning against her legs, pinning her in place, Dean pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

 

~*~

 

_Evan pressed down on Lindsey’s shoulders, ducking her head down to run the tip of her tongue over his nipple, then biting it gently.  Lindsey drew in his breath sharply, but he needed more.  He groaned louder as she bit again, arching his back as she did it again.  He dug his fingers into her ass as he rocked her hips against him.  Evan fought back against him again, feeling the fear rise again.  This wasn’t her._

_“Don’t listen to the fear,” he pushed himself up against her hands and cupped the back of her head, looking into her eyes.  “Take control of it, don’t listen to it,” he said to her.  Kissing her deeply, his tongue sliding around hers._

_Evan sank into the kiss, the voice of fear that had tried to stop her faded away and she pushed Lindsey back to the couch.  She rose from the couch and quickly pulled down her leggings and the thong she wore and tossed them aside.  Lindsey sat up on the couch, tugging his own sweatpants down.  Evan reached down and pulled them off his feet, dropping them to the floor.  She crawled onto him, pushing his shoulders against the back of the couch.  She gripped his hair and tugged his head back, kissing him again as she settled herself against him, feeling his warm skin against hers, groaning harshly.  She rocked her hips, his hard shaft slipping between her damp lips and run its length along her clit, making her groan._

_Lindsey wanted so much to push her to her back and bury himself within her, but he fought it.  He wanted her to take control of what she was feeling before she lost her control, and if that meant letting her use him to get to that point, he would do it.  As one hand gripped her hip and guided her a little faster, bringing closer to the edge his other hand slid up to cup her breast, pinching it lightly, his mouth closing over the other one, sucking it.  Evan tipped her head back and groaned as he pinched harder, sucked more.  The feeling of each ripping through her, shattering and burning within her.  She rocked her hips harder, moving her hips enough so that as she pushed back, his cock slid into her warmth.  She groaned and Lindsey pulled his mouth away from her breast, looking up at her, seeing her eyes darken more._

 

~*~

 

Dean pushed his jeans off and stepped out of them, kicking them aside.  Grasping Evan’s leggings, he pulled them down the back of her thighs as he used his foot to push her ankles apart.  Leaning against the backs of her legs, Dean slid his hand over her ass, and pushed his fingers between her legs.  His fingers rubbed roughly over her clit and Evan groaned, pushing herself up, her eyes sliding closed.  He heard her groan and circled her clit harder.  Evan slid her hands out and lowered her forehead to the bed, groaning into it, her hips moving against Dean’s fingers.

 

Running his free hand up her back, Dean grasped her hair and gently tugged her head back, bringing her face up so he could hear her.  When she moaned loudly, he pressed his fingers inside of her, he could feel her gripping them as he thrust slowly into her.  She pushed herself back against him, trying to take them deeper.  She squeezed tighter, the feel of them inside of her sending her into another spiral.  She pushed herself back harder, and Dean thrust his fingers faster, deeper into her.  She gripped the bedspread, groaning louder as Dean pulled her head back a little more.  She rose up, her hard nipples rubbing against the material as she rocked back against him again and again.

 

Dean let go of her hair, leaning over her back.  His chest pressed against her back, as he lowered his forehead to her shoulder blade.  Hearing her moans, feeling her warm and tight, grasping his fingers within her was sending him over the edge of his control.  His cock was throbbing and all he wanted to do was bury himself within her, feel her warmth surrounding him, the slick wetness of her letting him slide deeply.

 

“Fuck me Dean,” she growled deeply at him.

 

~*~

 

_Digging her fingernails into Lindsey’s shoulders, Evan slid herself down onto his cock.  She moaned loudly as he filled her, tipping her head back, letting it out.  Lindsey pinched at her nipples as she started to ride him and he found that it drove her further.  He took one nipple in his mouth and sucked harder, pinching harder, feeling her move faster, her fingernails digging more into him.  He took the pain of it and used it, starting to thrust up into her as she rode.  Evan closed her eyes, wanting to just feel the sensations that were rioting through her._

_“Faster Evan,” he begged her, he wanted to push her, to drive her to her limits, and his own.  “Please.”_

_Tugging his head back from her nipple, Evan laid her forehead against his, watching him as she moved faster.  Her blood pounded through her, and her body seemed to sting from the heat of her arousal.  She clenched her eyes tight as she pushed herself faster, harder against him.  She breathed roughly, guttural moans as she focused solely on the feel of him within her.  She felt Lindsey’s hand at the back of her head and opened her eyes, watching him as he pulled her mouth to his, kissing her hard and hungry.  She could feel the twinge of the fear try to grab hold of her, but she pushed it aside brutally.  She had never felt this good, shuddering as drove herself harder._

_“That’s a good girl,” Lindsey said roughly against her mouth, feeling the moment that she let go of her fear of losing control and just let herself feel the freeness of it._

 

~*~

 

Dean grasped Evan’s hips and leaned against her, his cock sliding into her.  Evan groaned and writhed her hips against him.  She pushed herself against him as he thrust into her.  His fingers dug into her hips as he leaned back, groaning as she squeezed around him greedily.  She pushed herself harder against the bed, pushing against him as he drove hard into her, her nipples rubbing harder against the bedspread, her sensations warring within her.  With each thrust, Dean could feel her growing wilder beneath him, he watched her as she gripped the bedspread, pushing herself, tightening around him.

 

“Don’t stop Dean, harder,” she ordered as he slowed just a little bit.  She pushed herself back harder, and Dean felt himself drawn into her almost frantic need.  He slid his hands up over her back, grabbing at her shoulders. She bent backwards, groaning as his hands tightened on her and he continued to thrust hard and fast in her.  She pushed herself up and spread her legs as far as her leggings would allow her to.  Dean grunted as he drove himself against her.  Evan’s body shuddered and she barely held onto herself, she just wanted to feel it a little longer.

 

Dean pulled out of her quickly, and pushed her roughly onto her back, pulling her leggings the rest of the way off and tossed them aside.  Grasping her hips, Dean pulled Evan closer to the edge of the bed, then grabbed her legs and pushed her legs up into the air, crossing them.  When he drove himself back into the groaned at the added tightness of her surrounding him.  Laying her legs on his shoulder, he grabbed her hips hard and continued to thrust into her.  Evan arched on the bed, moaning loudly, gripping the mattress and clenching her eyes closed.

 

~*~

 

_Lindsey grabbed Evan around the waist and rolled her beneath him.  Stretching out over her, he slid his hands up under her back, cupping the back of her head as he buried his mouth against the side of her neck.  Evan wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled herself up with him when Lindsey rose his hips up, thrusting down hard into her.  She moaned uncontrollably as she tightened around him, feeling him moving deep inside of her.  She rocked herself against him, wanting to feel nothing more than him.  Her nerves sizzled, and she felt her mind swirl, no thoughts, only sensations, the sound of his voice as he breathed harshly against her neck, growling as he thrust into her._

_“Lindsey,” she moaned, and he brought his head up to look at her, staring at her as he thrust into her.  Watching every sensation that she felt crowding in her eyes.  “Lindsey,” she moaned again, tightening around his hips, shaking against him as he continued to thrust deep and hard into her.  She dragged her nails roughly over his back, arching her back._

_“Let go of it Evan, don’t fight it,” he whispered harshly watching her, feeling his heart pound in his chest as he brought her to the end of her control._

_Evan arched sharply, a scream torn from her throat as she let go of the last shreds of her control and felt herself fly apart.  She gripped his hips tightly and shuddered against him as she cried out again, unable to stop the heat that burst alive inside of her.  She tightened around him and Lindsey groaned, thrusting madly into her until he reached his own limits and let out a deep growl as he thrust into her one last time as he came hard within her.  He could feel the tremors quivering inside of her as she gripped him and it sent him into spasms as his cock jerked within her, spilling all of himself into her._

 

~*~

 

Dean couldn’t hold on any more.  He thrust deeper into her again and again, feeling nothing but her around him.  Pulling her legs off his shoulder, Evan wrapped them around his hips, pulling him harder against her.  She squeezed him within her as he thrust. 

 

“Dean!” she cried panting heavily as she held back, shaking wildly.  “Don’t stop.  Please.  Don’t stop.”

 

Dean knew that she was on the edge, knew that she just needed one more push and she would sail over it.  He grunted harshly and thrust hard. 

 

Arching off the bed and throwing her head back, she screamed sharply as every sensation spilled over.  Dean followed her over the edge, groaning as he grabbed her hips and his body jerked uncontrollably inside of her, flooding her with cum.  He shuddered violently, climbing up onto the bed and stretching out along her body.  He pulled her against him, his hand burying into her hair as he leaned down to kiss her. 

 

Evan turned in his arms and slid her tongue along his lips, then inside, her leg sliding up over his hip, pulling him tighter to her body.  Dean ran his hand down her back soothingly as she continued to tremble.  He kissed her deeply, but gently.

 

~*~

 

Lindsey winched as he felt the sharp edge of Evan’s blade slice his finger, snapping him out of his memories.  He took a deep breath as he tried to settle his still jangled nerves.  He looked down at the blood welling up on his finger and stuck the cut finger into his mouth.  He sat for a moment absently until he heard voices in the kitchen.  He ignored them, still not ready to face any of them yet.


	20. Nineteen

A few hours later, Dean and Evan came downstairs.  In the living room, they found John, Sam, Lindsey and Kit sitting waiting for them.

 

“What?” Evan asked them as she came in.  She settled on the arm of the chair while Dean sat down.

 

“Feel better?” Kit asked her, the look on her face telling Evan that they were going to be having a discussion better.

 

“Much, thanks for asking,” Evan returned smartly.  “Were you able to find plans for the school?” She asked Sam.

 

“Yeah,” he replied, not looking at her.  He unfolded a large piece of paper onto the coffee table.  “Dad, Dean and I will head over there and get in.”

 

“We’ll call you when we get in,” John added.  “That’s when you and Lindsey find Drogue and bring him to the school” he said to Evan.

 

“We should head out with you,” Lindsey said to them.  “It may take some time to find him, even with our blood as bait for the demon.”

 

“Good point.  When you guys find him, I’m going to say the gym would be the best place to draw him,” Sam told them.  He pointed on the map.  “I’ve worked out the best way to get to it from every door.”

 

Lindsey leaned over the table and studied the map.  Evan glanced at him for a moment before studying the map as well.

 

“Why don’t I go with them to draw his attention,” Dean asked, winding an arm around Evan’s hips.

 

“We’re going to need help setting up the gym since Kit won’t be coming,” he told him, but kept his eyes on her.  They’d had a discussion about earlier.  And she’d lost.  “Angie and Kevin are coming to sit with her and the boys.”

 

“How does the gym need setting up?” Dean asked them.  “As long as we can get into it, we should be fine.”

 

“Because in case Lindsey fails to kill him, we’re going to need another plan,” John told him.  “And we need to know what we’re up against.”

 

“We should get going,” Lindsey told Evan who was still studying the map, she murmured in agreement.

 

“I’ve got your swords in the truck already,” John told them.

 

“Thanks John,” Lindsey gave him a small smile.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Evan said and left the living room to the kitchen where she went down to the basement.  Once there, she headed over to the rack on the wall and grabbed her sais.  Running the whet stone over the blades, she heard the steps creak.  Looking over her shoulder, she saw Kit standing at the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Evan,” she began, walking slowly over to her sister.

 

“Now’s not the best time,” Evan said softly.

 

“We need to,” Kit replied, her voice tight.  “What you did this morning was reckless and dangerous.”

 

“I’m not going to apologize for that Kit,” Evan said, turning to face her sister.

 

“I don’t expect you to,” Kit gave her a half smile.  “You scared me this morning.”

 

“For that,” Evan stressed, “I am sorry.”

 

“I’ve just never seen that from you,” Kit breathed shakily.  “But knowing the kind of life you were going into, I know why he trained you the way he did.  You’ve always been holding back, haven’t you?’

 

“Yes,” Evan said softly.

 

“Why?  I mean I’ve seen you fight before, you’ve always been a strong fighter.  But you’ve never been like that,” Kit said to her, trying to understand.

 

Evan leaned against one of Nana’s old trunks and looked at her sister.  “When I fight like that, it brings out something in me, everything I ever hold back, the anger, the hurt and the fear.  But it’s laser focused,” she said, trying to find the right words.  “When I went out hunting by myself, after you got bit by the Were, and after we left Dean and Sam in Louisiana, that,” she pointed to where she and Lindsey had been fighting.  “That’s how I was.  All the anger and guilt I felt over everything, it was so focused on fighting something, just letting lose.  And all of it just went away.  Lindsey taught me not just to fight, but to be a killer when I had to be.”

 

“And you didn’t think that we could handle it,” Kit said, understanding.

 

“No, I didn’t, because sometimes I scare even myself,” Evan paused.  She looked at her sister and gave Kit a small smile.  “But it felt so good to let go like that.  I knew what Lindsey could take, and bonus, if I’d killed him he’d come back,” She added, trying to lighten the mood.

 

“Yeah, he can,” Kit chuckled.  She looked at her sister and Evan could see the worry in her eyes.

 

“Look, I promise I’ll be careful,” Evan tried to smile at Kit.

 

“No,” Kit shook her head.  “If you have to fight like you did this morning, do it,” she surprised Evan by saying it.  “I want you to come home.”  Kit’s voice choked as she engulfed her sister in her arms.  “Please come home.”

 

Evan hugged her sister tightly, her voice choked in her throat.  She nodded her head against Kit’s shoulder and then pulled back.  “I will,” she said softly.

 

Stepping back, Kit helped Evan slide the sais into the knee-high boots.  She took her own cross shaped dagger down from the rack and clipped it into the front waistband of her sister’s jeans.  Lastly, Kit grabbed the two retractable batons from the rack.  She tucked them into the two hidden pockets that Evan had sown into her jeans at the hips.

 

“Do whatever you have to do, but kick his ass,” Kit told her.

 

Evan pushed aside the fear that turned in the pit of her stomach.  She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.  Clearing everything from her mind, she opened her eyes and looked at her sister.  “Always do.”

 

Walking up the stairs, Evan grabbed her keys from the hook at the doorway and her jacket.  Shrugging into it as she walked up the hallway to stop in the living room.  “Let’s get this show on the road,” she said.

 

Clearing up the papers from the table, John tucked them into his pocket.  “We’ll call you once we get in,” he reminded them. 

 

“We’ll see you soon,” Lindsey told him.

 

Dean took Evan’s hand and walked out onto the porch with her.  Once out there, he pulled her into his arms and leaned his forehead against hers.

 

“Be careful,” he told her softly.  He quickly kissed her forehead as Sam and his father came out, Lindsey following.

 

“Dean,” Kit said softly as he was about to go down the stairs to his car.  He paused on the steps, looking at Evan, holding onto her fingers for a moment.  He let them go reluctantly, and smiled at Evan.  She gave him a smile and then went down the stairs to her car.

 

“I don’t care about the Immortals rules,” she said.  “If it looks like Drogue is going to kill her, I want that bastard dead.”

 

“You got it Kitty,” he said firmly, in complete agreement.  “Consider it done.”  He gave her a kiss on the forehead before going down the stairs to his car.  He paused at Evans car, hand on the roof as he leaned in.

 

“Keep an eye on our girl,” Dean said to Lindsey, putting aside his mixed feelings towards the man.

 

“I will, I promise,” Lindsey told him seriously.

 

“Drive carefully,” he said to Evan, glancing at the dents in the side of the car from their earlier run in with Drogue.

 

Evan snapped her sunglasses down and gave him a cocky grin.  “Of the two of us, who has totaled a car?”

 

“That driver had demonic help,” he told her.  “Only way he could have killed my Baby,” he grinned, finally feeling better enough about the horrific accident that had nearly claim not only his and his brother’s life, but the life of their father.

 

“Whatever,” Evan grinned.  “Now, it’s killing time.”  She leaned up and gave Dean a quick kiss.  “See ya soon!”

 

Evan backed the T-Bird out of the driveway, waving at Kit standing in the doorway of the house.  Before she had come down earlier, she had gone in to JD and Jimmy’s room while they’d been sleeping and gave her son and nephew sad goodbyes, giving each of them a kiss.  The warm touch on her cheek gave her an almost overwhelming sense of pride, fear and love and she knew that Nana was letting her know how she felt.  She’d whispered a soft “I love you,” to her Nana and then had left.

 

As she made her way up the street, Evan passed Angie and Kevin coming to sit with Kit.  Evan reached her hand out as Angie passed by and reached for her hand, giving it the briefest of squeezes.  Angie smiled at her sister as Evan drove down the road.  At the stop sign, she glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the Impala pull up behind her, Dean behind the wheel, watching her car.  Sam sat beside him and gave Evan a smile.  She smiled back, reminded of the time when they’d met, seeing the two of them exactly as they were now.  John’s truck pulled up behind the Impala and glancing at the side mirror, she could see the worry on his face, masked by the stern features.

 

Evan turned left, while Dean and John turned right to go to the old high school.  Weaving her way through the traffic, wanting to keep Drogue far away from the house before she started baiting the demon.

 

“I approve of him,” Lindsey said quietly from the passenger side.  He unrolled the window and let the breeze blow over him.

 

“Approve of him?  Like you have a say in the matter,” Evan gave him a startled laugh.

 

“I don’t, I know that,” he said to her, “but I approve anyway.  He’s good for you.”

 

Evan looked at him, opening her mouth to say something, but she couldn’t.  His approval, though she hadn’t realized, was something that she did want.  She wanted to know that he was okay with her being with Dean, that they would be okay with each other.

 

Evan wiped at her eyes and sniffed.  “I was so angry with you for so long,” she told him quietly.  “I was shattered when I left.  I just drove around looking for something to fight.  I thought that if I could just kill every evil thing on earth so there was no more evil in the world, you’d have a reason to leave, to be with me.”

 

“I screwed up Evan,” Lindsey said, taking her hand.  “I took the wrong road and left you at the side of it.  But you have Dean and JD now, I’m not going to disrupt that.  I’m glad that you have them.”

 

“I do still love you Lindsey,” she told him, glancing at him.  “I always will.”

 

“I know Darlin’,” Lindsey replied, brushing his lips over the back of her fingers, before letting her fingers go.

 

They drove quietly for a few more minutes before Evan turned onto one of the main streets.  She felt a quiver of fear and excitement run through her and knew she needed a distraction before it overwhelmed her.  She snapped on the radio and twisted through the dials, looking for something to listen to.

 

“Time to start baiting,” Lindsey said, looking around him.  They seemed to be in the main part of town.

 

Evan shifted in her seat and drew out the dagger Kit had clipped there and handed it to Lindsey.  Switching hands on the wheel, she drew her arm back in the window and reached it over to him.  He drew the blade of the dagger quick and hard over the palm of her hand making Evan hiss.  He ran the blade over his own hand, closing his eyes at the pain.  They then put their hands out the window, letting the little drops of blood float out into the breeze, hopefully taking their scent back to the Morkas demon and Drogue.

 

They drove for an hour, circling town, trying to hit as many of the main streets as possible.  Not wanting to feel like the bait she was, Evan sang along with the song playing on the radio, teasing Lindsey into joining her.  It brought to mind the road trips they’d taken down the coastal roads.  She told him of her encounter with the blob demon, causing Lindsey to crow with laughter.  She told him how she’d been committed and he’d stared at her in shock.  When she told him of the accident that nearly killed the Winchesters, he honestly told her how sorry he was.

 

They were driving down another road when Evan’s phone went off.  She twisted in the seat so Lindsey could pull it from her back pocket.

 

“We broke in and cut the locks on the front doors.  They’re the best way to get in,” Dean told him when he answered.  “Where’s Evan?”  He asked as he looked around the dilapidated gym and wondered how things were going to play out.  There were old bleachers pushed up against the wall, falling apart.  There were puddles on the warped hardwood floors from the leaks in the ceiling.  Sam and John were putting candles around the gym to fight the darkness from the covered windows.  In the middle of the gym floor there was an old boxing ring, the floor of it stained and ragged.

 

“She’s busy in the back seat,” Lindsey replied, snickering at the squeal of dismay from Evan.  “I’m kidding Dean,” he said when he heard silence from the other end.  “She’s driving.”  Lindsey hit the button and put the phone on speaker.

 

“We may have to think of something else,” Evan said.  “We’ve been driving for an hour now and haven’t seen a thing.”

 

“How many yellow Hummers do you think this town has?” Lindsay questioned, frowning slightly.

 

“I wouldn’t think too many, why?” Dean asked.

 

“Evan, look,” he said pointing ahead of them at the lights.  “We might have found him,” he told Dean.

 

As the lights changed, Evan started through the intersection.  As she grew closer to the Hummer, it turned sharply, coming at them. 

 

“Found him!” Evan shouted, hitting the gas and turning the wheel quickly to avoid the collision.  The back end of the car swerved as she twisted it back the other way, darting around the Hummer and heading out of town.  The Hummer swerved and came after them.  “We’ll be there soon!” She shouted and Lindsey disconnected the phone.

 

 

Dean looked at his phone and frowned.  Turning to his brother and father he said, “They’ll be here soon.” 

 

 

Lindsey turned in the seat to watch the Hummer following them.  “Step on it, Evan!”  He shouted as the Hummer came up quickly.

 

Frowning, Evan stepped on the gas, watching the traffic ahead of her, dodging cars.  “We have to get out of town!  Too much traffic!”  She ducked in front of another car the quickly turned right down a street.  “Hold on!” She cried as the back end of the car swerved.

 

Watching as the Hummer rammed the car in front of him out of the way and turned to follow them, Lindsey grabbed onto the back of the seat.  “He’s still coming,” he warned her.

 

“Call Kit!  Get us a way out!” Evan yelled.

 

“He’s coming up on the left!” Lindsey grabbed the phone as it slid across the seat as Evan turned sharply down a side street.  She looked frantically around to make sure she wasn’t going to hit anyone as she stepped on the gas.

 

“Kit!” Lindsey shouted.  “Need some help!  Gotta find a way back to the school!”

 

“Where are you?” Kit asked, putting the phone on speaker, she snapped her fingers at Kevin and Angie, pointing at the map.

 

“Uh,” Lindsey looked around.  “Orchard and, um,” he shrugged, not finding a cross street.

 

“Hill!  Orchard and Hill!” Evan yelled, pulling down the street.  She glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the Hummer turning down after them.

 

Angie took the phone as Kevin and Kit looked at the map.  “This way?”  Kit asked him.

 

“No! They have the end of the road all blocked off for water main repairs,” Kevin said quickly.

 

“Shit!  Quit hitting my car!!” They heard Evan yell angrily as they heard a crash of metal on metal.

 

“Evan, take Hill all the way to Parkland and then go left.  That will take you out of town and onto a back road,” Kevin told her quickly.

 

“At that back road turn right and it will take you all the way to the school!” Kit told her hurriedly.

 

“Gotcha!” Lindsey told her.  “Gotta go!” He disconnected the phone and Kit sat there.

 

 

Looking at her sister.  “Angie, I need your keys.” She rose from where she knelt at the coffee table.

 

“No,” Angie and Kevin told her.  “Evan told us not to let you go, no matter what.” Angie added.

 

“I should be there with them!” Kit countered.  “This is what I do!”

 

“Not this time,” Kevin told her.

 

“Fine! I’ll walk!” Kit pushed passed them and went to the front door.  When she tried to open it, she couldn’t turn the handle.  “Nana! Let go!” She ordered but the handle wouldn’t budge.  “Dammit!”  She kicked the door, turning and sinking down to the floor.

 

 

“There’s Parkland!” Lindsey pointed to the street and Evan pulled the wheel hard to the left.  She shouted in anger as the Hummer tapped the back end of her car and caused it to skid a little.  “Son of a bitch is going to die!” She muttered.

 

“Dean and John will fix the car,” Lindsey assured her, gripping the seat and watching the Hummer.  “The end of the road should be coming soon, the houses are thinning out.”  He added, looking around.

 

“I just hope my baby has enough juice to get us there,” she said worriedly.  She had the pedal down, but they were just barely keeping in front of the Hummer.

 

“There’s the end of the road, turn left!” He shouted suddenly as they came around a bend in the road and came to a three way stop.  Evan twisted sharply at the wheel, not slowing as she skidded around the corner.  The road was slick and she fishtailed wildly. 

 

“Come on baby, stay with me,” she begged of the car, trying to straighten out from the wild skidding.  “Dammit!” She screamed as the Hummer struck the back end, causing the car to spin around, and Evan found herself behind the Hummer.

 

Stomping the gas, Evan quickly caught up to it.  “Lindsey, take the wheel!” She shouted at him.

 

Lindsey looked at her questioning.  “What are you going to do?”

 

“Just take the wheel!” She ordered. 

 

Lindsey took the wheel, and slid across the seat under her as Evan pushed her hips up.  The car lost a little power as she lifted her foot, but Lindsey put his foot down and they regained their speed.  Sliding into the passenger side, Evan dug under the seat for a box.  Pulling it out, she flipped it open and pulled out her emergency gun.  Cocking it, she held it ready, looking at the position of the Hummer.

 

“Left Lindsey!” She told him when she saw an opening.  “Hit it!”

 

Lindsey jerked the steering wheel to the left and shot alongside of the Hummer.  Evan shifted in the seat and pointed the gun at the Hummer.  The Hummer started to move over on the road, trying to push them off it.  Lindsey hit the gas and turned sharply to avoid being hit, pulling forward.

 

“Son of a bitch!” Evan yelled.  “Keep it steady Lindsey,” she yelled.  She looked into the window of the Hummer and shuddered as she saw the head and front legs of the Morkas rise up from the side of the window, reaching out for her.  Her wrists began to itch badly.

 

“Evan! We want him to follow us, remember?”  He grabbed the waist if her jeans as she started to lean out of the window.

 

“Bastard has hit my car five times now, he’s gonna pay for it!” She yelled and fired a few rounds at the side of the Hummer, continuing to fire as Lindsey squeaked past it and pulled ahead of it.

 

“Get in here!” He yelled, pulling her waistband and dragging her into the car.

 

Evan twisted in the seat and looked out the back window.  “Still following us,” she assured him.  Lindsey grunted as he tried to keep them ahead of Drogue.

 

“There’s the school!” She cried a short time later, pointing out the windshield as the abandoned high school loomed up before them.

 

They went through the gate that John and the boys had opened for them in the chain link fence surrounding the school.  Lindsey hit the brakes and the T-bird slid to a stop in front of the school.  Evan leaned over the back seat to grab something, but a bright flash of lights caught her eyes.  She looked up to see the yellow Hummer approaching fast.  Backing quickly out of the car, Evan fell to the gravel and crawled backwards as the Hummer rammed the back of her car, pushing it forward.

 

“Bastard!” She yelled at Drogue.  “You are so dead!”

 

“Evan let’s go!” Lindsey yelled at her.  He came over and grabbed her hand to pull her up.

 

“I told you before, bitch, you’re the one who will be dead.  And him,” Drogue said, looking at them both as he climbed out of the Hummer and walked towards them, pulling his sword from the sheath.

 

“Oh yeah, definitely time to go,” Evan said, turning and running with Lindsey.

 

Lindsey and Evan mounted the front stairs and pulled the door open.  Once they were through, they turned and saw Drogue running at them.  Slamming their weight against the door and shut it, Evan kicked the foot lock in place and they backed away from the door.  They glanced at each other as Drogue battered at the door.  A moment later the doors burst inward.

 

“Well that didn’t hold long,” Evan frowned and then glanced at Lindsey.  “You wanna?” she said gesturing with her hands, already backing up.

 

“Yeah,” Lindsey answered, following her.  They turned and ran up the hallway, hearing Drogue behind them.

 

At the top of the hallway, Lindsey’s grip tightened on her hand and he pulled her left.  Evan ran with him, tightening her grip on his hand.  They could hear Drogue getting closer and ran faster.

 

“Lindsey up here!” She yelled as he was about to turn down the wrong hall.  She tugged his hand to the right and they mounted the stairs two at a time.

 

“Creature,” he growled to the demon wrapped around his arm.  “Find them,” He ordered, and the Morkas uncurled its head and jumped off his arm, scrabbling across the ground, it’s missing leg not slowing it down.  He followed the demon as it tracked them down, taking him down a hallway where he could cut in front of them.

 

Drogue heard them coming and quickly mounted the stairs and slashed his sword art them.  Evan yelled as Lindsey pushed her out of the way of the sword.  She rolled out of reach and then jumped to her feet, she reached for the retractable batons at her hips and held them out.  She saw Lindsey duck the swing of the sword and kick Drogue in the midsection.  He tried to reach for the batons that Evan held out for him, but the slice of the sword cut him off.

 

Seeing that Lindsey was cut off, Evan set the batons on the ground and moved away from them.  Crouching low, trying to stay out of Drogues sight, she slid the sais from her boots.  Holding them tightly, she braced herself, waiting, different attacks running through her mind in a blur until she found the one that pleased her.  She watched carefully, her muscles flexing unconsciously as she moved, looking for an opening.

 

Lindsey saw Evan crouching, looking for a chance to strike.  He wanted to keep Drogues attention on him, so he ducked to the side and grab the batons.  Coming up, he gripped them tightly.  He stared at Drogue, keeping Evan in his peripheral vision.  He saw the tiny movements of her body and knew that she was stalking him with her eyes, ready to attack.  He was going to give her the chance.  The more damage they caused, the better the chance that they would have.

 

“You really think you’re going to best me with those?  Sticks?”  Drogue growled at him.

 

“I don’t plan on it,” Lindsey said to him.  Raising his hands, he continued to stare at Drogue.  With a sudden swing of his arms, he brought the batons down, hearing them snick into place.

 

Evan took her signal and rushed at Drogue’s back.  Dropping down, she let herself slide along the floor on her hip.  As she slid between his legs, she thrust the sais up hard, burying the sharp blades into his thighs hard enough to strike bone and hearing him scream in pain gave her a twisted sense of satisfaction.  Turning quickly, the sais twisted in his legs before her momentum pulled them free.

 

“Having a woman fight for you?” Drogue grunted as he tried to twist and grab for Evan beneath him, swinging his sword at Lindsey who was raining blows on him with the batons.

 

“That’s for my car asshole,” Evan snarled at him.  She ducked from his grabbing hands, stabbing the sai up at him and through his hand.  Lindsey struck the batons at his other hand as he tried to grab Evan.  She rolled out of the way of his hands as Lindsey struck him.  Jumping to her feet, Evan gave Drogue a cocky salute with the bloody sais.

 

“I’m going to rip you to shreds!” Drogue screamed angrily at her, rising to his feet.  He gripped his sword tight, ignoring the pain and the blood dripping down his legs and hand.

 

“Cocky times over.  Lets’ go!” Lindsey said as he grabbed Evan’s wrist, pulling her away.  They turned and took off up the hall.  They went down another flight of stairs and turned left.  They heard Drogues lumbering steps behind them and kept running.  As they approached the doors at the end of the hallway, they few open and Sam and Dean stood there.  A warm glow from the candles set up around the old gymnasium reach out into the hallway.

 

“Incoming!” Evan yelled as they ran closer.

 

“He’s right behind us!” Lindsey warned.

 

“Evan! Lindsey!” John shouted at them as they skidded into the room.  They turned as he shouted, throwing their swords at them.  Lindsey threw the batons to Sam, and Dean caught her sais.  They grabbed the hilts as they flew towards them, snatched them and swung the swords, the scabbards flying off as Drogue burst through the door.

 

Ignoring the others in the room, Drogue ran at Lindsey and Evan.  They glanced at each other and stood ready.  Drogue swung his sword viciously at them.  Darting out of the way, Lindsey swung high at Drogue and Evan swung low at his legs.  They could feel the blades slice at him, but the steel lined clothing gave him protection.

 

Drogue swung at Lindsey, leaving his side open.  Evan took the opening, swinging hard and cutting deep into his side.  He screamed in pain and swung viciously at her.  Lindsey blocked the swing, catching the blade.

 

“This is my fight,” he grunted at her.

 

“Lindsey,” Evan began but looked at him.  She saw the look in his eyes and stepped away.

 

Dean grabbed her shoulder and brought her back to him.  “He’ll be okay,” he whispered in her ear.

 

“I hope so,” she said more to herself.

 

Looking intently at the two, Evan missed the scrabbling sound on the floor, but her wrists began to itch again.  She rubbed them against her jeans in irritation as she watched Lindsey and Drogue.  She breathed sharply when Drogue swung viciously at Lindsey.  He darted out of the way and moved backwards, away from them, ducking and returning Drogue’s strikes.

 

“What was that?”  Sam asked them, looking around. 

 

“I didn’t hear anything,” Dean said to him, frowning.

 

He heard it again.  “That.”  Dean and John looked around, Evan gripped her sword tighter, rubbing her wrists harder.

 

Dean let out a grunt as something struck his back hard and pushed him and Evan to the floor, sending her sword sliding across the floor.  Evan looked over his shoulder and saw the multitude of eyes staring at her, flaring brightly.  The thick hairy arms reached around Dean, trying to grab at her, squeezing him hard.

 

“Get this fucking thing off me!” Dean yelled, trying to grab at the thing on him.  Evan grimaced as the mouth opened and a thick viscous liquid dripped out over his shoulder as it hissed at her.  “Shit! It burns, it burns!” He yelled, trying to wiggle free of the thing.

 

Evan squirmed out from under Dean, and as she did, the spider like demon jumped off Dean, launching itself at her.  Evan ducked out of the way of the demon and it landed and turned quickly to follow her.  Dean pulled the jacket off and threw it down, watching as it smoked where the liquid landed on the leather.

 

“It’s tracking Evan,” Sam said as he looked at Evan.  When she took a step, the demon moved to stop her.  She backed up and it hissed at her, following.

 

“I think it’s mad at me for hitting it with the baseball bat,” she told them.  She wished she hadn’t lost her sword when it had knocked them over.  She moved quickly to the left, but the demon moved with her.  It raised back on its legs and hissed at her, then spit a thick string of liquid from its mouth.  When it landed on her, it began to crystallize out over her jeans.  “Fucking hell!  It spits webs from its mouth?” she screamed in surprise, pulling her jacket sleeves down over her hands to wipe it off her when the denim began to discolor and burn. 

 

Grabbing the sais that Evan had thrown to him earlier, Dean came up behind the demon and tried to stab at it.  It turned quickly and spit another stream of liquid at him.  Ducking out of the way, Dean stabbed at the demon again.

 

Sam grabbed the retractable batons from the floor and was about to run at them when his father yelled in surprise.  John lay sprawled out on the floor, squirming as something crawled over his back.  Recoiling in disgust, Sam saw the demon, he tried to remember what Lindsey had called it, crawling over his father’s back, hissing at him.  As he watched the demon grew.  He ran over to his father and when it raised its head to look at him, Sam struck the demon with the baton.  It flew a few feet and landed on its back.  The multitude of legs helped twist it over and it reared up, hissing and growing again. 

 

“Sammy,” John yelled, rising to his feet.  He grabbed one of the batons from his son and they watched the demon’s antenna move around, trying to pick up their sound and body heat.  They watched as it grew again and then shoot towards them, the many legs helping it go faster.  They ducked out of the way as it tried to strike.  Sam turned and saw another shape making its way across the floor.

 

“Dad, there’s another one,” Sam told him, watching it while his father kept an eye on the first one.

 

“Your friends are going to die,” Drogue told Lindsey, striking at him hard with the sword.  “Maybe I’ll keep her alive and kill you in front of her before I slaughter her.

 

“You don’t know them,” Lindsey grunted back, watching Drogue closely.  He wanted so much to check to make sure Evan was okay, but he knew that if he did, he was a good as dead.

 

They struck swords and continued fighting.  Lindsey knew that he had to beat Drogue, or Evan and her family were dead.  As well as every other Immortal.  Drogue was bent on being the last one standing.  They moved around, Lindsey trying to keep his balance on the warped gym floor.  Turning quickly, Lindsey swung himself up onto the boxing ring, backing up as Drogue followed him.

 

Evan backed into one of the old saw horses that they used as balance beams for gymnastics.  The demon before her hissed and rose up, and if Evan didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that it had grown. 

 

“Evan,” Dean said quietly, sneaking up behind the demon, he had the sais gripped in his hands at his sides.  He looked at her and Evan nodded.  When he raised his hands, Evan moved her hands onto the saw horse and jumped up, twisting back over the bar.  The demon jumped up to catch her and Dean brought the sais down into its thick body, dragging it to the floor.  The demon screamed in agony beneath him.  He grimaced as thick white fluid seeped out of the wounds.  Twisting the blades, he pulled his hands to the sides, the blades tearing the body of the demon apart.  He then pulled one free and sliced the head from the body.

 

“Dad and Sam,” Dean said to her, looking over at them.  He pulled the weapons from the demon’s body and they ran over to where Sam and John were standing back to back, trying to keep out of the reach of the demons.  One streaked out a leg and caught Evan in the chest.  She flew a few feet and landed hard on the ground, rolling to a stop.  Dean slashed at the demon trying to reach for his brother.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lindsey saw Evan roll to a stop and lay there.  His heart pounded in his chest.  “Evan!” He yelled, breaking his concentration for a moment.  It was all Drogue needed, he swung hard at Lindsey, cutting him deep in the leg.  Lindsey cried out in pain and fell to one knee, trying to keep his sword up to block Drogues blows.

 

“Lindsey!” Evan cried, seeing him go down to a knee, trying to block the blows from Drogue’s sword.  “John!” She yelled at the older man.  He turned and saw Lindsey down on his knee, trying to defend himself.

 

“Help her!” Dean yelled at his father.  “We can handle this,” he said, avoiding a swing from one of the demon’s claw tipped legs.

 

John looked around quickly and found a wide piece of metal that he realized came from the basketball board.  Finding her sword, he slid it across the floor to Evan, he grabbed the piece of metal and moved in between her and where Lindsey and Drogue fought.  “Run!” He yelled at her, watching her eyes widen in understanding.  Gripping the metal tight over him, John crouched down.

 

Evan took a deep breath, calming her heart as she glanced at Lindsey and saw Drogue bring the sword down on him.  Lindsey fought back awkwardly, trying to get to his feet, but she knew that he couldn’t last much longer.  Tightening her grip on the sword, Evan ran at John.  When she planted her foot down on the piece of metal, John gripped it tightly and stood up, catapulting Evan towards Drogue’s back.

 

Lindsey saw her coming towards them and when Drogue raised his sword, he rolled out of the way.  Drogue jerked upright as Evan’s sword pierced through him.  The point of the blade burst through his chest, dripping with blood.  He fell to his knees panting.  She snarled in anger and pushed herself down onto him more, the blade of her sword sinking into the floor of the boxing ring.

 

“Evan,” Lindsey said, getting to his feet.

 

“Screw the rules Lindsey,” she growled, pulling the sword from Drogue’s back and jumped down from him.

 

Lindsey looked at her, saw the look in her eyes and knew that she wouldn’t be left out of this fight.  She felt the same bloodlust that he felt right now, and there was only one way to stop it.  He nodded at her.

 

Drogue screamed in frustration and pain, rising to his feet and running at them, his sword swinging.  Evan and Lindsey broke off to the sides, swinging their blades and catching Drogue.  He turned and struck at them again.  Evan jumped over the swinging sword and stabbed at Drogue’s side.  Lindsey struck at his legs, slicing deep.  When Evan tried to take another swing at Drogue, his free arm streaked out and surprised her, catching her hair and pulling her towards him.  Twisting his arm, he wrapped her hair around it and when she tried to pull away, he grabbed her by the throat.  His fingers squeezing angrily around her.

 

“Lindsey!” she croaked at him, clawing at the thick hand around her neck.  “Lindsey,” she said again, her voice growing weak.  She swung her sword at Drogue blindly through the growing darkness.

 

“Evan!” Lindsey cried, his anger growing as he watched her swings become weaker.  He rushed at Drogue, stabbing the tip of his sword into the floor of the ring, using it to vault him over to Drogue, his booted foot connecting with the larger man’s face.  When his fingers loosened from around her throat, Evan fell to the floor, rolling out of the way, pain flaring through her head as her hair caught on his arm and pulled free.  She pulled herself to her knees and dragged in deep breaths. 

 

“Son of a bitch!” she muttered hoarsely.  She shook her head and tried to get her bearings.  Taking a few deeper breaths, she gripped her sword tight and rose to her feet.  She wobbled for a moment but looked to see Lindsey striking at Drogue’s face with his fists.  With an angry cry, Evan ran at Drogue, thrusting her sword into his leg.  She twisted it hard before pulling it free, ripping his leg and taking a swing at him.  Lindsey raised his sword and struck at Drogue, slicing his arm.  Blood flowed from the Immortals wounds.  Evan ducked Drogue’s swinging arm as he tried to strike at Lindsey, then with a quick jump, she swung her fist at his face, connecting with his jaw.  Pain flared up her arm, but she ignored it.  Lindsey struck back with his sword, and at Drogue’s surprise at Evan’s punch, he thrust his sword as hard as he could at Drogue’s side, burying the blade deep.  With a growl, he twisted it sharply, inflicting as much damage as he could.

 

John threw the piece of metal aside and watched Evan land on Drogue’s back, running him through.  He had seen her fight before but not with the savagery that she was showing now and he had the sudden feeling that she was going to be okay.  He looked at his sons and ran over to them. 

 

“Dad!” Dean shouted as one of the demons swung towards him as he approached.  He swung the sai and it sliced one of the legs off.  The demon screeched loudly and fixed its gaze on him.  Hissing loudly and striking quickly at him with its front claws, Dean ducked out of the way and twisted to leap onto it’s back.  He grabbed onto the shell, grunting as the spines shot out and dug into his fingers.  Barely hanging on, Dean swung the sai at the back of the demon’s head, plunging deep into it.  As the demon fell, John grabbed his hunting knife and cut the head from the body.  Dean rolled off as it fell, going still.  John pushed the head off his knife and crushed it beneath the heel of his boot.

 

Running over to Sam, they grabbed the demon that was crawling over him.  He held it away from him, but the multitude of legs were grabbing their claws at him.  He grabbed the side of the exterior shell and shouted in pain as the spines dug into him.  The head snapped at him, the jaws leaking fluid. 

 

“Don’t get any in your mouth!” Dean shouted, remembering what Lindsey had told them.  As they approached, John grasped a handful of legs and pulled it off Sam.  Dean climbed up onto it’s back and brought the sai down on its neck, the head separating from the body.

 

He laid there, catching his breath, looking around for his father and brother.  He frowned when he looked in the darkened corner of the gym.  Squinting, he saw a figure standing there, watching them.  He shook his head to clear his vision and looked again.  He did, there was a figure standing there, but with a flash of yellow, it was gone.

 

“Did you see that?”  He asked his brother and father, pointing to the corner.  “There was someone there.”

 

“There’s no one there, Sammy,” Dean told him, pulling him up from the floor.

 

Sam heard the clash of the swords and turned towards the sound.  Dean and John followed him, looking at Evan and Lindsey as they took on Drogue who stood in the middle, slashing at them with his sword.  Lindsey struck out at Drogue and when he turned to strike back at Lindsey, Evan slashed at him with her sword, ducking when he swung back at her.  They moved together, like a mirror, striking and moving.  They swung hard and fast, Drogue trying to keep up with them.

 

John moved closer, but Dean and Sam grabbed his shoulders and pulled them back.  “Trust us, stay out of the way,” Dean told his father.

 

Drogue turned towards Evan, slashing at her, moving towards her.  Evan fought back, planting her foot and striking back hard, her fury focused and centered on the man before her.  Lindsey moved up on Drogue swung at his side, the blade sinking deep, cutting through the protective clothing.  Drogue turned towards Lindsey, blood streamed down side and he screamed in pain, falling to his knees.

 

“Who is Huang Se?” He shouted at Drogue.  “Why is he after Evan and her family?”

 

“I don’t know,” the wounded man snarled stubbornly at them.

 

Evan stalked over to him, pressing the tip of her blade against his back.  “Don’t lie to us!”  She snarled, her voice rough, pressing the tip harder, sliding it into his back.  “Why is he after us!”

 

“You have to die,” Drogue told them, he swung his sword quickly, catching Evan’s, pulling it from his back.    “You screwed up his plans.”  He tried to rise to his feet, but he once again fell to his knees, his breath labored.

 

“What are his plans?” Evan yelled at him, her sword ready for any move he made.

 

“I don’t care what that yellow-eyed freak wants!”

 

“Yellow eyes?”  Evan whispered, looking at Lindsey.  “He has yellow eyes?”

 

“Yes!” Drogue shouted.

 

“That’s not possible! You’re lying!  We killed the yellow eyed demon,” Evan snarled.

 

“One of them,” Drogue answered.

 

“He promised you a list of Immortals, didn’t he?” Lindsey asked him, pressing the tip of his sword against the man’s throat.

 

“Yes,” Drogue grunted, struggling to get to his feet.  “I will have that list.  I will be the last,” he growled at Lindsey.  “I will enjoy killing all of you and then hunt down that sister of yours and rip her apart.”

 

Lindsey heard Evan growl, saw her eyes darken with anger and she stabbed her sword viciously into his back, severing his spine and paralyzing him, blood dripping from the blade as it thrust through him.  She grabbed his hair, holding him in place.  “Kill him Lindsey,” she said roughly.

 

Lindsey gripped his sword tightly and swung it quickly, decapitating him.  As the blade cut through, an iridescent blue light shone through the broken skin.  Drogues body fell forward and Evan dropped his head.  She walked around the body as it began to glow, the light shooting towards the roof of the gym, and swirling in the air.  It gained strength as the light drained from Drogues body.  All around her, Evan saw little arcs of electricity jumping between the metal in the entire gym.  It seemed to grow as it snapped and arced around them.  She jerked her arm as an arc went between hers and Lindsey’s sword.

 

“Lindsey?  What’s happening?”  She asked him, looking around.  When she looked at him, she could see little sparks and arcs growing and jumping over his body.  His feet began to rise from the floor as they grew stronger and she grabbed at his hand, trying to pull him down.

 

“It’s okay Darlin’,” he said almost dreamily as it surrounded him.  “It’s the Quickening.”

 

A jolt of lightning shot down from the center of the whirlwind and enveloped Lindsey.  Evan screamed as the power shot up her arm and threw her spiraling backwards, her sword flying free of her grip.  Dean and Sam caught her as she came down, John caught her head as they all fell to the floor.  Evan shook her head, getting up to her knees.  She looked at Lindsey in amazement.

 

Lindsey let out a long, low groan as the power enveloped him.  He could feel it run all over him, tingling and shooting through him.  He jerked as it filled him.  His mind was flooded with the memories Drogue had kept buried deep in his mind, the memories of other Immortals that he had killed through his long life.  His heart raced hard and fast in his chest and he thought it might just burst free.  He briefly wondered if it was going to kill him as it grew and twisted upon itself within him.  He screamed suddenly as a wave of energy blasted out from him.  The windows in the gym shattered and rained glass to the floor.  Sam and John ducked their heads, Dean grabbed Evan and covered her with his body.

 

“Oh my god,” he whispered as the lightening shots of power sunk into him and faded away.  He fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

 

“Lindsey!” Evan cried climbing back into the ring and running over to him, dropping to her knees, “Lindsey are you okay?” 

 

“That was amazing,” he whispered to her, running his hand over her cheek.  She could feel the last tingle of power run over her cheek. “My first Quickening.”

 

“Guess you’re not a virgin anymore,” she chuckled roughly, then pressed her hand to her throat.  “Oh that hurts,” she paused.  “Hey, I got blasted by that power, does that make me an Immortal too?”  She asked him, smiling at the dazed look on his face.

 

“Don’t think it works that way,” he mumbled.

 

“Dammit,” she chuckled.  She looked at Drogue’s body lying on the mat.  “What are we going to do with him?”

 

“I’d like to mail his head back to Huang Se,” Dean muttered as he and Sam and John climbed up into the ring, looking at the body.

 

“Salt and burn him,” John told them.  “The usual.”

 

“He’s dead.  There’s no coming back from that,” Lindsey told them.

 

“Yeah, well we want to make sure of that,” Sam replied.  He looked around suddenly, a feeling creeping up his spine.  He peered deeply into the corners of the gym.  He could have sworn that he saw the brief flash of yellow again, but he couldn’t be sure.


	21. Twenty

Huang Se stood in his darkened office, almost blending into it.  His eyes shone bright yellow as he before him he watched the figures moving in the gym.  He clenched his fists tightly and growled as he watched them pack up their stuff.  Closing his eyes briefly, he pulled the projection of himself back and then opened his eyes again, the glow of them having faded back to a sickly yellow.

 

“Dammit,” he muttered angrily. 

 

He’d been slightly surprised when Sam Winchester had seen him earlier.  And he had certainly underestimated McDonald and the Callum bitch.  He would not do so again.

 

~*~

 

Dean and Sam helped Lindsey to his feet, but when his legs wobbled, they strung his arms over their shoulders and helped him out of the gym.  Evan and John gathered up their weapons and the cache of bombs that they had hidden through the gym just in case.

 

They put Lindsey in the back of the Impala, so Evan could wind a bandage around the wound on his leg, then wrapped it with duct tape while they hooked the T-Bird to Johns truck to tow it home.  Grabbing a large tarp from the bed of his truck John and Sam covered the T-Bird so not to attract any police attention.  Dean then grabbed the shovel from the trunk of the Impala and looked around.

 

“That will do,” he said pointing to the forest at the edge of the field.  Evan and Lindsey nodded in agreement.  Evan grabbed the duffel bag from the trunk and followed Dean, Lindsey limping along behind them.

 

John and Sam went back into the school and made their way to the gym.  They made a quick sweep of the gym to make sure that there weren’t any more demons hiding in there and then unceremoniously dragged Drogue’s body out of the ring.  Grabbing the head, John and Sam dragged the body out of the back door of the gym, they looked around to make sure that there weren’t any other cars or people around before lifting Drogue between them and then stumbled towards the woods.

 

They were silent as they took turns digging a deep ditch in the soft earth.  Wiping the sweat from his brow, Dean hopped out of the ditch.  Evan and Lindsey grunted as they pushed Drogue’s body into the ditch.  John dropped the head in on top of it.

 

“So, this is your life now,” Lindsey said to Evan as he wiped his shirt over his sweaty face.

 

“This is the part I hate about it,” she told him wryly, digging in the bag and pulling out the large can of salt.  She twisted off the top and sprinkled salt over him.  And then added another layer of salt for good measure.

 

John pulled out the can of lighter fluid and dowsed the body with it.  Dean handed Lindsey the zippo lighter.  Lindsey looked at it and then flicked the wheel, the flame sparking to life.  He looked at the body in the grave and tossed the zippo into it.  Flames quickly spread over the body and grew stronger.  They watched as the flame engulfed the body, waiting as it quickly left nothing but burnt bones.  After quickly burying the body, they made their way slowly back to the cars.

 

“Evan,” John said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder, stopping her beside his truck.  She paused as Sam and Dean helped Lindsey to the Impala.

 

“Yeah?”  She asked softly, turning to him.

 

“You did good today,” he told her.  When he had first met her, she had been possessed by a spirit and a demon.  The second time, she had rashly shot a demon that had exploded foul smelling goo all over her.  He had wondered if she was meant for a life of hunting.  When she had swum down to the ship to retrieve the emerald to save his son had made him look at her in a new light.  But today she had had more than proven why he’d put aside his initial misgivings.  She would definitely make a good addition to the Winchester family.

 

Evan smiled softly at him, tears stinging her eyes.  She had always hoped that John would approve of her, and now she felt that he finally did.  Hugging him, she whispered “Thanks John.”  She smiled broader as he hugged her back.

 

Pulling away from him, she wiped her eyes.  Glancing at her car, she pouted and walked over to it, touching its dented sides.

 

“I’ll take it back to the shop and get to work on it,” John told her, laying his hand on her shoulder.

 

“Do you think you can fix him?” She asked as Dean and Sam came back over to them.

 

“If I can’t, then I don’t belong in the restoration business,”  John assured her.

 

“I’m gonna call him Bruiser,” she announced.

 

“Him?” Sam asked her.

 

“Bruiser?”  Dean questioned.

 

“You call the Impala Baby, I’m calling mine Bruiser.  He took a beating today and still ran like a beast,” she told them, smiling as she patted the back end of the car fondly.

 

“Bruiser,” Dean said softly.  “I like it.”

 

“We’ll get him back up and running just like new,” John told her.

 

Walking back to their cars, Evan climbed in the back of the Impala with Lindsey while Dean and Sam slid into the front seats.  John climbed into his truck and pulled out of the yard in a wide circle.  As they drove as many of the back roads as possible to keep the T-Bird away from the eyes of the police.  John turned off, heading towards the shop, giving them a wave.  Dean turned the other way to head back to the house.

 

“How’s your leg?” Dean asked, glancing in the rearview mirror, concerned at how pale Lindsey was.

 

“I’ll be fine,” he mumbled, taking a drink of water from the bottle Evan handed him, the color beginning to come back to his face.

 

“I saw something in there with us,” Sam said, turning in the seat so he could see them all, telling them what he saw.

 

“Drogue said that Huang Se had yellow eyes,” Evan told them, wincing as she spoke, her throat sore and her voice haggard.  “Called him the yellow eyed freak.”

 

“We killed Azazel,” Dean said, looking in the rearview mirror.  “He’s dead.”

 

“When Evan said that you had killed him, he said “one of them”,” Lindsey told him, remembering what Drogue had said when they’d had him on his knees.

 

“Do you know of any more demons with yellow eyes?”  Sam asked Lindsey.

 

“No,” he shook his head.  “But I’ll see what I can find out.  I’ll make some calls.”

 

They pulled into the driveway and climbed out.  Dean and Sam helped Lindsey out of the car, his leg weakening as he stood.

 

“Let go of the door Nana!” Kit ordered when she heard the Impala’s loud engine pull into the driveway and shut off.  She threw open the door and ran out onto the porch.  She paused briefly, looking at them all as they made their way up the front stairs.  When Sam and Dean parted on the stairs and she saw her sister, she felt a flood of relief.  “Sis,” she whispered before stepping down to push through them and take Evan in her arms tightly.

 

Evan smiled and hugged her sister back.  “Told you I’d come home,” she whispered roughly.

 

Kit pulled away from her and looked at the bruises forming on her throat.  “What happened?”  She demanded, hearing Evan’s raspy voice.

 

“Gotta stay out of grabbing reach next time,” Evan said softly, giving her sister a wry smile.

 

“I want to hear everything,” Kit said to them.  “Did you go medieval on his ass?”

 

“I think we should move this inside before we say anything more,” Sam said to them, ushering them into the house.  As he nudged Kit inside, he leaned down and whispered into her ear.  “They went completely nuclear on him.”

 

As Angie, Kevin and Kit gathered around to hear the details Evan collapsed onto the couch.  Dean sat on the couch beside her and took her hand.  She leaned against him and laid her head on his shoulder.

 

“What did you do with him?” Kevin asked them after they had given them all the details.

 

“He’s a smoking pile of ash,” Dean assured them.

 

“No way of him coming back?” Angie asked them.

 

“Not even Wolfram and Hart could bring him back,” Lindsey told them, then looked at Evan, “And I’ll look into the other issue.”

 

“What other issue?”  Kit frowned at him.

 

Evan looked at Dean and Sam, “She needs to know.”

 

“Know what?”

 

“Drogue called Huang Se a “yellow eyed freak,” Evan told her.

 

“And after we killed the Morkas demons, I saw someone watching us.  I saw yellow before he disappeared,” Sam said, taking her hand.

 

Kit frowned.  “But we killed Azazel,” she said softly after they’d told her what Drogue had said.

 

“Is there any way he could have come back?”  Angie asked them worriedly, knowing what his reappearance could mean for her nephews, and the baby Kit carried.

 

“No,” Dean said with assurance.  “The ritual turned him to dirt and we salted and burned the ground when we buried him.”

 

“I still have some connections,” Lindsey told them.  “I’ll see what I can find out.”

 

“Just don’t get yourself back on Wolfram and Harts radar,” Sam told him.  He knew that there was still tension between Lindsey and Dean, but as Evan had pointed out, he hadn’t had to come and warn them.

 

“I need a drink,” Evan groused roughly and then rose from the couch to go into the kitchen to grab everyone a beer.  She took a deep swallow, then sat back down on the couch.  “From here on in, we need to be careful,” she said, looking at each of them.  “If Huang Se is after us, and with him having control of all of Wolfram and Harts assets, who knows what he’s going to throw at us.”

 

Dean looked at Lindsey, “He’s not going to be happy that you helped us.  And killed Drogue.”

 

Taking a sip of his beer, Lindsey nodded slowly.  “No, he’s not.  But I have the other Immortals to help me.”

 

“Just be careful Lindsey,” Kit said to him.

 

“I will,” he assured her, smiling gently at her.

 

They talked quietly for the next couple of hours, Evan holding JD tightly when he’d woken up from his nap, before Kevin and Angie said their goodbyes and headed home.  Evan checked the wound on Lindsey’s leg and then sent him up to take a shower.  Evan and Dean went up to their bedroom, followed closely by Sam and Kit.

 

In their bedroom Dean frowned at his jacket and washed off the venom from the demon.

 

“We’ll find a way to fix it,” Evan said softly to him, coming up behind him and wrapping her arm around his waist.

 

“How’s your throat?” He asked, turning to face her and nudged her chin up so he could check out the dark purple bruises that had bloomed on her throat.

 

“It’s okay, just a little froggy,” she said softly, smiling at him.  “It’ll be fine in a few days.”

 

“I think you should lay low for a little while,” he told her.  He’d been thinking about what she had said, and what Lindsey had told them.  “Huang Se is not going to be happy that you beat Drogue.”

 

“I’m not going to hide Dean,” she told him.  “I’m going to do exactly as I have been.  I’m going to go fight the monsters.  And if he sends anymore of them at us, I’m going to be there to fight them too.  I will be a little more cautious, but I’m not going to let him scare me.”

 

“After what I’ve seen today, maybe he’s the one who should be scared,” Dean joked, but kept his worry to himself.

 

“He’ll be even more scared of us when I teach you how to sword fight,” she told him with a smirk.

 

“Oh no.  This family only needs one swashbuckler,” Dean laughed.

 

“Come on.  A good sword fight gets you all revved up,” Evan said with a naughty grin and a wiggle of her hips.

 

“Yeah, we’re going to have a talk about that later,” he warned her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.  He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

 

Evan smiled at him and when she heard the water turn off in the bathroom, she said, “I’ve got dibs on the shower next.”

 

“Go ahead,” Dean told her, and she gathered up her pajamas.  She knocked on the door, and when no one answered, she went into it.

 

As Evan took her shower, Dean changed into his pajama bottoms and climbed into bed.  A short time later, Evan came back into the bedroom, rubbing her head with a towel a frown on her face.

 

“That demon hit me harder than I thought,” she said, lifting her shirt to show him the bruise that had formed on her ribs where she had been hit by the demon who’d sent her flying.  “And look at this,” she said, pulling up the sleeve.  Dean took her hand and pulled her arm closer to the light on the nightstand.  Up along her forearm was a fine spidering of red lines.

 

“What the hell?”  Dean examined it closer, then looked up at her.

 

Evan turned and went out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the study doors, Dean following close behind her.  She knocked on the door and when she heard Lindsey bid her come in, she slid the doors open.

 

“What’s wrong?” Lindsey asked her worriedly.

 

Evan pushed up her sleeve again and showed him the marks on her arm.  “What is this?”

 

“That looks like a Lichtenberg figure,” Lindsey said, taking her arm and examining it.  “That happens when people get hit by lightning,” he said, running her finger over the lines.  “Does it hurt?”

 

“No,” Evan shook her head, frowning.

 

“The Quickening,” Dean said suddenly.  “You were holding onto him when he was hit by the energy from the Quickening.  It threw her about five feet when it hit you,” Dean told him.

 

“Is it dangerous?”  Evan asked them.

 

“No, the mark itself isn’t.  It’s just a scar.  I’m just surprised that it happened,” Lindsey told her honestly.

 

“And you’re sure it doesn’t make me Immortal?” She asked him almost jokingly.

 

“It doesn’t work that way,” he repeated with a smile.

 

“Dammit,” Evan groused.  “One more scar to add to the collection,” she said softly, rolling down her sleeve.  “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said to Lindsey with a smile and then pulled Dean out of the study, sliding the door closed.

 

Back in their bedroom, Evan climbed into bed and sat looking at her arm.  “It’s kind of cool,” she said to him when he climbed in beside her.  Dean gave her a kiss and then turned off the light and pulled her towards him.

 

“Your mother is going to freak,” he told her in the dark, causing Evan to laugh aloud.

 

“I don’t think we should tell them about Huang Se,” she said softly.  “It will just worry them.”

 

“We’ll talk to Sam and Kit in the morning and see what they say,” Dean told her.

 

Evan nodded in the dark, holding her arm up and looking at the marks in the moonlight.  A few minutes later she curled up into Dean and let the tension of the day leave her and she fell asleep.


	22. Twenty-One

Evan woke up abruptly the next morning, she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn’t shake.  Dean was gone from the bedroom and she looked at the clock on the bedside table to see that she had slept in.  Throwing the covers off, she climbed out of bed frantically and pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt.  Leaving her bedroom, she went down the stairs and looked into the study.  The pullout was folded up and the clothes that they had gotten Lindsey were gone.  Pushing aside the curtains, she saw Sam, Kit and Dean standing with Lindsey beside his truck.  Running out of the study, Evan pulled open the front door and they stopped to look up at her.

 

“Let’s let them have a moment,” Kit said, taking Deans hand and tugging him towards the stairs.  She squeezed Evan’s shoulder as she passed her on the stairs.  She gave him a quick smile and then went down the stairs to where Lindsey stood leaning against the side of his truck.

 

“You’re leaving?”  She asked, her voice rough and small.

 

“It’s time Darlin’,” he answered softly.

 

“You could stay a few more days.  Until your leg heals,” she replied.

 

“It’s almost healed,” he told her.  “Your sister gave me your grandfathers guitar.  I promise to take good care of it,” he smiled, hoping to wipe away the sadness on her face.

 

“Lindsey,” Evan began, but didn’t know what to say.  She looked up at him.  “I just found out your alive.  And that you left the firm,” she said, her voice shaking.  “I don’t what you to go yet.”

 

Lindsey closed his eyes and sighed.  He put his hands on her arms and pulled her close, holding her tight.  “I did what I came to do.  And now I have some work to do,” he held onto her shoulders and looked at her.  “I’m going to find out what I can about this yellow eyed demon.”

 

Evan looked at him, studied his features, taking them in sadly.  “I don’t know how to say goodbye,” she whimpered, hugging him.

 

“It’s not goodbye Darlin’,” he said softly.  “It’s a “see you later”.  He felt her half chuckle have sob against his shoulder.  Looking at her again, Lindsey smiled.  “You have my number.  If you ever need me, for anything, call me.”

 

Evan nodded, sniffling.  “I’m going to miss you.”

 

Lindsey nodded, feeling his own throat tighten up.  “I always miss you.  But you’ve got a good man there,” he said, glancing at Dean.  “And you’ve got your family.  Hold onto them.”

 

“You can be our kissing cousin,” she tried to joke, but then sniffled again.

 

“Oh yeah, Dean would love that,” Lindsey groused jokingly.  “I mean it Evan,” he said seriously, looking at her.  “Hold on to them.”

 

She nodded, “I will.”

 

Leaning back against his truck, he said to her.  “I went through your Nana’s books and made some notes for you.  And I left a couple of pages of protective glyphs for all of you.”

 

Evan leaned against the Impala, her arms crossed over her stomach.  “Thanks Lindsey.”

 

“And when I find out anything, I’ll let you know,” he told her.

 

Evan nodded.  “Just be careful.  Don’t get on Huang Se’s radar any more.  And for God’s sake, avoid getting decapitated.  Please.  I had a hard enough time when I found out you were dead the first time.  I don’t think I could handle it again.”

 

“I’ll keep my head firmly connected to my shoulders,” he told her, giving her a smile and a wink.

 

“You better,” she said softly, hugging him one last time.  Lindsey tightened his arms around her and she felt the familiar warmth of him and felt a comfort.

 

“I’ll keep in touch,” he told her, pulling out of her hug.  He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  Stepping aside, he pulled open the truck door and climbed in, starting up the old engine.  Evan leaned back against the Impala and smiled.

 

“Take care,” she said softly, then pushed herself away from the car and headed back up the stairs to the porch.

 

Lindsey revved the engine of the truck and pulled out of the driveway.  He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Evan standing on the porch watching him.  Kit and Sam stood beside her, his arm wrapped around his wife’s waist.  Dean had his arm wrapped over Evan’s chest, holding her close.  He could see the sadness on Evan’s face as he gave them a wave and she gave him a small wave back.

 

“You okay?” Dean asked her as she kept watching where Lindsey’s truck had disappeared.  Kit and Sam had gone back into the house to get the boys their breakfast.

 

Evan turned in Dean's arms and looked up at him.  She studied his face, watched his eyes as he looked at her.  Smiling, she rose up on her tip toes and gave him a soft kiss.  “I love you,” she said softly.

 

Dean wanted to make a joke, but he couldn’t.  Over the past few days, confronted with a big part of Evan’s past, he had felt a little out of sorts, not sure of what she felt once she’d been back together with Lindsey.  She had told him, but he’d always had that doubt at the back of his mind.  That doubt went away, and he felt his heart beat strongly.  “I love you too.”


End file.
